



















































































































® A 

.-‘-^ % 

- ^ 0^ 

♦ 


'». . • 0 ‘ 







A> '°”‘ 



»■ 


*■ *^y'//iu^ ^ ^ '* ^ 'f* ifi^uwvs^ ^ N 

*•»••• A® ^ o N O ^ -^' 

^•o. ,0^ -‘’^'-v V^ 






/ .V 

’ <&> 

0 • ^ A 

‘b 



’' n'5 'V 
• f° .. 


’ 0^ 


o 

o 



" o 

>" '>* v*^ *“ 

♦ ^ V 

• yO n^ * ' < O 

v *•''* v, *».•’ ^«^ 

^ v^ *> ’ ’ °- aO^ 5 * \; <» ’ * °'' « 

'. .V .’^Va" to ■/ ■^-S- •’ 

' . ^raufe^ - r.^V' 

* ^ ^ W/ ^>J \ - * 


\0 * 

^ ■"a. 

nO “V ' 

P ^ •' :» « o - 



0 ^ ^ O « ff ^ 

C • O 

iT 



W 4"^ 

, o V 

.0 v\ 

♦ Pk •^. 

. ’ O ^ ^ ^ 

» • o . ^ * * * 








r. s' A <". 'o,.* ,0^ 

aA , *^ ' * ^ 



* v ^ - 



b V 

/V ^fc^VlWvOy *> * 

P %> *' ®° ^ . V 

• ♦ ^ ■^-s. ^ > 



'O , » '* 

, S ' • ^ P»^ 

J.'f ,V/^’ 

- •>--v-»- 'M^.\ 




C- -O C 

ft" -^bv 

o. ..,,.’\,o'^ V''-.;.’ ,v- 





O * * 


■* * 

■s ■q.'^ 

- 40 ^ •'v 





' " • 

" '^oV^ 





aP v^. 



'• c,'’ 

* -^z • 

A"^ ' • • * V 

.Or c ° " ® -» ^ ‘ A*^' 

0 • c-c^::'^ w'' o 

V " * 


^0 
A o 














' s'' 




^ ^ V 












• t. y ■• 

•'o • * ^ 





0 




V. " " " "" ' ’ . o ’ o 

-V ^ v^ ^;,•°- c\ ^0 ^**’'^ ^ ^ c> 



•n-0-^ 


•l 

r o„ \W-<' ,0 % '>^.' o^ \W-<* -0 ■%. ' 

' ' °• c> *0^ s* Vjl'-v “v f. ^ c* ■» * 



...•' ,0^ '=. ''••■ \ 

-r. - '' . cS^s\\\'^'«a^_ “ 1^ 




.0° .-:=;^;%°^ ,M-^ 

4" °'<- 4 'V ‘' 

' nT - * * r. ^ 

.4 ' 



































































•I » 










m -., 


i* 


; 


V/ 


V#‘'" 


iU 






\ > ^ 


I ‘i-; 


ir'4 


'r 


TirCr*' 'V ' '^ 


/ 


y. ^ 




I 


t I 


! 


‘ 1 I 




;''i> 


, .WV 


** ?/• ♦> /■ • M' 

W,;; V.-, 




r-' 


^fri 






4- 


» ,u 


;f >* * 


tVA*'.iy> 


, N 

uy 


« 



* ' » ' ; 1 1 

* ^ ' 1 


I. •' V 


( 

r. 1 » » 

i • >p, « 

K/v, ■ 



'^",V 






'ru 




•ry 


yL^ 








.'V ’ 


,rV 




.r ‘ I 




ii,^ • 


a’ : 


7'* f-', 


\ -ww.vifhi^y. 




' ■■■ :■'V.(l'' 


} •\ 


i"! 


Il 


(S 


'*« i 


y ,-.t' f '?' 


i..-. I ' • I 




I . - iVi't' li'.?. J ■ "Jji 

'.'f*' * I h •\*t ' 

V' 


• .1 


1 '*.J ' 'i »* 

', 7‘"'«'''.''''vTiV, , ■’'■ 




f I 


•# > 




»■ 


f i. 


A,l' 


TfJ 


?* 




I 




.i-»' 


I 




v/.i y;,:/:'':.. i 

¥fi uym:^ 

»‘A> ' . •:’ '." " 




« 




7' 


it vt 


J •» * Ll 


^7’ 








r 


a. i•, 1 




!&1 


<r; 






» I ^ 




A ' 


''y. 


"l * 








c,> I .n*vn,»- ■, -t .wWu'w*.'iVV' 


i' > 








•til 


r 


•.'. i''i 


7' 


Ati 


< ) ' 


' '1 


■Wi .A 




S’ 


rE 






I 


/ 


*; v\- i >w- 

iy. ^■^ .*, , f .T 


L'l 


w» 


\' 


»r w ' \ 'i ’ 1 • i I • ■' T'. ' T • ■ I 

t A ^ ,-\ 

iM ai^V. 








Vi'-’, '. 

rp''. ’.V' .y.-r 


f> * 


X -',• '>^■‘ 

r ' »•: 


A'*) 


Y .: 


'»■: 




•». ' 11 . y 










S'' ^^■■'■■'Vi^'"\''l*V-^' ■ 1 T 


,.w-<. 


H 71 '^wLi! 






•' 'O' . 

"''vV 

ife.A' 


'M' 


7* )^;:k 




iVi;’V;.,''!':'':''iiiii' 


» • " - 11^ 

.S». 1 *>' 


•j T' n'l ^ 


U' 


' N' 


4 




t 


< ,* 




KBit 


■ :/r 




!!*• ‘ »' 


vt 


7 


. • n» 


1 




^'h 


'M 


5\*^ 


•t I > 


7s r, 




I• • .'I' f‘ 


' 1 


•O' 


il : ' ■ 


l'l ^j' 


\ '. ‘<f 


il 




» . > 


T; 




I / 


i 




-fiA'A ^ 

•".’ .•tO'll,-;M 


'A. /r.itA h, ^ 

■V.-ISs’NJt/VyV 




m 


h 


l 


^'•y Iv 


!> irr* I'i *'. ' . ' 








•■'<: 


0 


•^1 ■ ) 


i'' 






sn”^‘ 


E... 













'.fv 

•Mr; : 


I 

I 


t 


V'> . 

frr;-, 

ittiiSl.'.'- r 


\ 


I, 








































/ 

The 

Genealogy and History 

of the 


John Keysar Smith Family 

of 

Valley Rest 
Florence, Nebraska 


by 

Angeline Smith Pickering Crane 
and 

Cora Phebe Smith Mullin 




• 


To The Mayflower Descendants 


You have the gift of the ages, 

Heredity's choicest flower, 

Three-fold blood of the Pilgrims, 

Nobility’s dream of power. 

You are so stern and honest 
Pilgrims with work to be done. 

You are a trifle haughty; 

Like the Knights of Toddington. 

Praise be for that heritage. 

You are both true and fine; 

Your motto, “Noblesse Oblige” 

Is written in every line. 

Guides, philosophers, friends. 

All with a dignity rare, 

Your children’s children shall bless you 
And honor the names you bear! 


—C. M. 


© 


Cl A 81 4190 


u 






This Lineage Book 

Beiricateir 

to 

The Sacred Memory 
of 

My Beloved Daughter 
BETHEL LEONORA PICKERING BROWN 
and to 

Her Daughter 

ROBERTA ANGELINE BROWN 
and 

Her Brothers 

DOANE TURNER PICKERING 
and 

AVERY BENJAMIN PICKERING 
“Maplehurst” 2535 R St., Lincoln, Nebr. 
April 2,1921. 


This Book Compiled by 

ANGELINE LENORA SMITH (PICKERING) CRANE 
2535 R St., Lincoln, Nebr. 

“ Mapleburst ’ ’ 

Genealogy of 

Smith, Douglas, Crane, Baxter, Denison, Stanton, Gardino 
Griswold, Tracy, Nehemiah Smith, Bourne, Lord, Lee, 
Browne, Hyde, Wolcott, Hough, Brewster 
Mayflower Line, Etc. 


Genealogy and History 

of the 

John Keysar Smith Family 

of 

“Valley Rest’’ 

Florence, Nebraska 

Copyrighted and Compiled 

by 

Angeline Smith Crane 
2535 R St. 

Lincoln, Nebr., 1922 

Assisted in Research Work 
By Her Sister 
Phebe Cora Smith Mullin 

Dedicated to the 

Sacred Memory of My Bloved Daughter 
BETHEL PICKERING BROWN 
and to her 

Daughter, Brothers and Kindred Families 
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” 


Introduction 


The history of the John Smith family of Milford, Conn., 
to the history of the John K. Smith family of “Valley Rest,” 
Florence, Nebr., in 1920, is written with the view of sharing 
with others a knowledge of our ancestors and all allied and 
kindred families, of some three hundred years, who look down 
through, what seems to us, the serene continuity, of dim and 
somewhat obscure generations of men, who, by their adventure, 
toil, patience and industry, have left a record—however brief— 
upon which we may construct a very clear vision of the life and 
habits of the men of each period in the development of our 
Country. 

A study of their endeavor and accomplishment is of vast 
importance to the children of this generation for the reason 
that it is almost impossible to place too great a value upon 
their lives as pioneers and individuals, rather than to think 
of them indifferently as a long line of tiresome ancestors who 
in no way can make or mar our development here and now. 

Such is not the case, and a careful study of ancestry unrolls 
before us a picture of three hundred years of hope, ambition 
and disappointment, and success, seasoned alike with the flavor 
of valuable discovery, helpful citizenship, and reverence for 
the God who gave them courage to do and dare against the 
greatest odds; and to finally conquer the elements, tame the 
tribes, and to establish a home, and fight to maintain for us 
a clean, unsullied race of people with a free and independent 
government. 

Briefly sketching the history of these many families, I 
take great pride in introducing to my reader the men and 
women of bluest, purest and most honorably industrious blood. 

From Elder William Brewster, who founded Plymouth 
Colony in 1620, to our dear father, who fought to maintain. 


uphold and perpetuate the principles for which the little May¬ 
flower band deserted their own homeland and established 
themselves upon American soil. 

object is to define clearly the lives of these men who 
came to America and made America what it is to us today; 
brave, fearless, courageous men and women, each taking an 
active part in the construction of cities, towns and villages, 
helping to clear the forest, fell the timber, build and establish 
homes, churches, mills and industries, upon which w^e as their 
descendants, depend for our culture, education and entertain¬ 
ment. 

All honor to them and thanks be given that in our veins 
flow the blood of the ages, of industry, honesty and reverence. 

Behind many of these families we find the blood of Kings 
and Conquerors. Happy and proud are we that ours is a long 
line of ancestry back to the very beginning of England, Scot¬ 
land and Normandy. But we are most proud of our American 
blood, because from the very day they struck American soil 
they dedicated their lives to its grim future, hoping that each 
generation might be more happy and comfortable than their 
own. 

Let us rise up and call them blessed, and serve and do, 
that they may never be disappointed in the result of their 
labor and hardship. 


Written bv Angeline Smith Crane. 











John Smith of Milford, Connecticut, Genealogy. 

The immigrant ancestor of this family was JOHN^ SMITH 
of Milford, Conn., born 16—; died 1684, at Milford. Came to 
New Haven, Conn., and soon afterwards settled at Milford in 
1640; is presumed to have been one of the several from Herts- 
fordshire, England, who could not leave there in 1637, when 
the Rev. Peter Pruder and others from that section of England, 
sailed with the Rev. John Davenport, Gov. Theophilis Eaton, 
Deputy Gov. Stephen Goodyear and other persons from Lon¬ 
don, who came in the ships Hector and Martin in 1637. It is 
probable that he came directly from England to New Haven, 
Conn., in one of the three ships which sailed in 1639 to New 
Haven, viz., the St. John, with Capt. Russell, the Fair Weather, 
which reached New Haven before July 28th, 1639, or the third 
ship, which came to Southhold, Long Island, soon after. (The 
name of the ship is not known.) We conclude that John Smith 
came in one of the first named ships in 1639 direct from 
England to New Haven Colony. 

Ref.—New England Hist, and Gene. Record, Vol. 45, 
pp.222-8, Savage III. Record of Griswold, Crane, Pad- 
dock, Howes, Russell, Smith families, by Mrs. Russell 
Vance, Milwaukee. 

From the amount of property, £513.3.9, left by John Smith 
at his death in 1684 (the inventory was taken Dec. 1684), it 
is probable that he belonged to a family of some wealth in 
England. It has been suggested that he may have been one 
of the Smiths of Hadden Hall, some of whom came early to 
America. John Smith married Grace Hawley, who was born 
in England, 16—, and died at Milford, 1690. The will of Mrs. 
Grace Smith is recorded in Vol, 2, page 90, of the New England 
Probate Records. Her will, dated Nov. 26, 1869. Mrs. Grace 
Smith willed her property, £61.11.7, to her four living children. 
Gf their family of seven only four were living at maturity— 


JOHN SMITH GENEALOGY 


Ephraim, John, Mary and Mehtable; children of John and 
Grace Plawley Smith, who were all born at Milford, except 
Nicholas. 

Nicholas, b. 1640. 

Ephriam, b. Oct. 12, 1644; m. Abigail Briscoe. 

JOHN,2 bap. Aug. 27, 1646; m. PHEBE CANFIELD. 

Mary, bap. Jan. 7, 1848; m. Dr. Abel Gunn. 

Ebenezer, bap. Nov. 10, 1650; d. young. 

Mercy, bap. Dec. 5, 1652; d. May 2, 1670. 

Mehitable, b. March 25, 1655; m. Edward Camp. 

Ref.—D. P. P. A. Neb. Chap. No. 39, National Chap. 

No. 1383. 

SERGEANT JOHN^ SMITH, born August 27, 1646; died 
Jan. 8, 1732; married at Milford, Conn., Jan. 23, 1672. PHEBE 
CANFIELD, born May 8, 1656; died May 3, 1730. She was the 
daughter of Sergeant Thomas Canfield and Phebe (Crane) Can- 
field of Milford. No will or inventory of estate can be found 
in New Haven Record of Probate Court, of this John Smith, 
nor of his wife, Phebe. Their tombstone, however, may be 
found in the Milford cemetery, and they are to be found sub¬ 
sequently also recorded in the “Tombstones of j\Iilford.“ John 
Smith and Phebe (Canfield) Smith, his wife, had several chil¬ 
dren, all born at Milford, Conn., viz.: 

Phebe, b. 1673. 

John, b. June 18, 1674; d. May 14, 1754; m. Ruth Briscoe. 

TIIOMAS,2 b. Mar. 7, 1677; d. 1743; m. HANNAH CAMP. 

Samuel, b. Oct. 18, 1679; m. Rachel Lambert. 

Mercy, b. 1681. 

Ebenezer, b. Mar. 31, 1683; d. Nov. 4,1744; m. Sara Collins. 

Joseph, b. Nov. 29, 1685; died young. 

Abiah, bap. Mar. 1686; died at Milford, had two name¬ 
sakes, (nieces). 

Nathan, bap. Sept 1689; m. Hannah Tibbals. 

Joseph, bap. Apr. 15, .1694; m. Mary Clark. 





_ JOHN SMITH GENEALOGY _3 

THOMAS SMITHS (John, 2 John^) was born March 7, 
1677, at Milford, married at Milford, Dec. 2, 1699. HANNAH 
CAMP, who was born Jan. 31, 1677, at Milford, daughter of 
Samuel and Hannah (Betts) Camp. Thomas died 1743, near 
the New York state line, west of Ridgefield, Conn. 

According to Judge Ralph P. Smith of Guilford, Conn., 
THOMAS SMITH, with two brothers, removed from Milford, 
Conn., to Ridgefield, and were the proprietors of the town. 

THOMAS^ (JOHN,2 JOHN^) Smith and two brothers, 
Samuel and Ebenezer, removed to Ridgefield where they were 
granted land and were the original proprietors of the town. 
They settled there permanently with their families from Mil¬ 
ford. Late in life Thomas is said to have removed to a place 
called Titickus Mt., near the New York state line, a few miles 
west of Ridgefield, and died there in 1743. (According to Judge 
Ralph P. Smith of Guilford, Conn., and Miss Evelyn Smith of 
Northhampton, Mass.) 

Ref.—N. E. Hist, and Gene. Record, Vol. 45, pp. 222-8. 

Children of THOMAS and HANNAH CAMP SMITH, all 
born at Milford. 

Jonah, b. Apr. 29, 1703. 

Hannah, bap. Oct. 24, 1703; m. Matthew Seymour. 

JABEZ,4 b Nov 29, 1705; m. RUTH SEYMOUR. 

Mary, b. 1707. 

Gideon, b. June 31, 1709. 

Isaac, b. Jan. 31, 1712. 

Thomas, died young. 

JABEZ^ SMITH, born at Milford, Conn., Nov. 29, 1705. 
died at Ridgefield, Conn., Sept. 22, 1787, at 82 yrs.; married 
at Ridgefield, June 12, 1729. RUTH SEYMOUR, born 1707; 
died 1776; daughter of Matthew and Sarah (Hayes) Seymour 
of Norwalk, Conn. Children born at Ridgefield, Conn. 

Sarah, b. Sept. 7, 1730. 

Jabez, b. Dec. 12, 1731. 

ABRAHAM,^ b. June 6, 1733; m. MARY BAXTER. 



4 JOHN SMITH G ENEALOGY 


Joel, b. June 9, 1735. 

Ruth, b. Jan. 16, 1737. 

Ref.—New Eng. Hist, and Gene. Register, Vol. 70-71. 


ABRAHAM^ (Jabez,^ Thomas,^ John,^ John^) Smith, born 
at Ridgefield, Conn., June 6, 1733; died at North Salem, West 
Chester County, N. Y., 1784; married at North Salem. MARY 
BAXTER, born Mar. 11,1734, at North Salem; died June, 1802, 
at the same place; daughter of John and Mary (Adams) 
Baxter of North Salem, N. Y. 

Children of ABRAHAM and MARY BAXTER SMITH, 
born at North Salem, N. Y., and southeast N. Y. 

ABRAHAM JR.,« b. 1754; m. SARA CRANE 1778; d. 1808. 

Mary, b. 1756. 

Jabez, b. 1759. 

Ruth, b. 1760. 

John, b. 1763. 

Pettit, b. 1765. 

ABRAHAM® (Abraham,® Jabez,^ Thomas,^ John,^ John^) 
Smith, Jr., was born at North Salem, N. Y., in 1754; married at 
North Salem, Nov. 19,1778; SARA CRANE, born Sept. 5,1757; 
died Oct. 20, 1829; daughter of Col. Thaddeus Crane and his 
first wife, Sara (Paddock) Crane, of Salem, N. Y. 

Abraham and wife, Sara Crane Smith, both died at Bolton, 
Vt., near Richmond; where they removed from North Salem 
and settled permanently after Abraham’s service in the Revolu¬ 
tionary War ended. Their children were all born at Bolton, 
Vt, and some of them remained there, while others went west 
into New York, and from thence further west. ' 

Children of Abraham and Sara (Crane) Smith. 

John Keysar, b. 1785; m. Katherine MacDonald. 

JARED CRANE,7 b. 1786; m. CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS. 

Sara. 

Thaddeus. 

Polly. 







JOHN SMITH GENEALOOY 


5 


George. 

Lydia. 

Betsy. 

Abraham, d. 1869 at Bolton. 

JARED ORANE^ (Abraham,« Abraham,» JABEZ,^ Thom¬ 
as,® John,^ John^) SMITH was born at Bolton, Vt., near what 
is now Richmond, in 1786. He died at Williamsville, Canada, 
West, April 10, 1843; married at Lake Geneva, Wis., Nov. 15, 
1811. CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS, born at Chelsea, Vermont, 
Oct. 29, 1791; daughter of Ivory and Phebe (Smith) Douglas. 

Jared C. and his wife, Charlotte Douglas Smith, settled at 
Louisville, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and from that place Jared 
C. Smith enlisted in the war of 1812, in Capt. Benj. Willard’s 
Co., 1st Reg. New York Militia, and again later in Capt. Hunt’s 
Co. from Vermont. 

Charlotte Douglas Smith shared in the trials and depriva¬ 
tions during the War of 1812. She did her part by weaving 
and knitting garments for the soldiers encamped some dis¬ 
tance from her home. Riding horseback, with her babe in her 
arms, she traveled many miles through the forest, surrounded 
by untold danger from wild beasts and Indian foes, which 
infested the woods at that time, to carry food and warm cloth¬ 
ing to the brave young husband, who was stationed several 
miles from their home. Several children were born to them at 
Louisville, N. Y. After a number of years following the War 
of 1812 the family removed to Canada, and settled at Williams¬ 
ville, near the St. Lawrence river, and there were engaged in 
the lumber business, until the death of Jared C. Smith in 1843, 
when the widow and her children removed to Wisconsin, near 
Pon du Lac. They remained there until the Civil War in 1861. 

At that time she, with her widowed daughter and two 
small children, came to Florence, Nebr., to make their home 
with her married son, John K. Smith. She removed with them 
after the war to their country home, called “Valley Rest.” 



6 


JOHN SMITH GENEALOGY 


She died there June 6, 1878, and is buried at Prospect 
Hill cemetery, Omaha, Nebr., beside the graves of John K. 
Smith and his wife, Mary Ann (Shearer) Smith, whose warm 
love and comfortable home she had enjoyed during the closing 
years of her active and industrious life. Many and thrilling 
were the tales of adventure she related of her early days as a 
bride in St, Lawrence Co., N. Y., during the War of 1812, and 
later with her grandchildren at Valley Rest. She sat by the 
fireside in the home of her son John and entertained the family 
with her experiences as a bride and pioneer in New York 
during the year in which that state was her home. 

Children of Jared C. Smith and wife, Charlotte Douglas 
Smith. 

Angus, b. 1827; d. 1843. 

Thaddeus, b. 1815; m. Amanda-, no children; d. at 

Fon du Lac, Wis. 

JOHN KEYSAR,« b. Feb. 15, 1818; m. MARY ANN 
SHEARER. 

Charlotte, b. 1820; m. John Diffin. 

Lydia, b. 1812; died young. 

Henry Dauglas, b. 1825; m. Eliza Marsh. 

JOHNS kEYSAR SMITH, son of Jared C. and Charlotte 
Douglas Smith, was born in Louisville, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., 
Feb. 15, 1818; died at his country home, “Valley Rest,” Flor¬ 
ence (now Omaha), Nebr., May 5, 1875. 

His tombstone may be found in the Prospect Hill cemetery, 
Omaha, Nebr. He married at Rockport, Ill., June 11, 1846, 
MARY ANN SHEARER, born Mar. 12, 1825, in Lycoming Co., 
Penn., daughter of Joel and Phebe (Blackwell) Shearer. 

MARY ANN (SHEARER) SMITH died at Omaha, Nebr., 
May 1, 1893, having lived a widow many years and having 
reared and educated her seven remaining children and given 
her love, home and protection to three orphans, who with her 
own family lived to mourn her death. 

JOHN KEYSAR SMITH was one of the intrepid adven¬ 
turers who dared the terrors of Indian and desert, to form one 
of the line in the Overland Trail Company to California in 




JOHN SMITH GENEALOOY 


7 


1849. He remained in the gold region long enough to secure 
sufficient dust to buy a home for himself and his young family , 
who awaited him in Rockport, Ill. He returned by way of the 
Isthmus, where packponies carried himself and companions 
across the Isthmus. JOHN K. SMITH came home with a for¬ 
tune in gold, but his health was impaired by the fever which he 
contracted w'hile in California. He removed with his family 
to Davis Co., Iowa, where several of his children were bom. 
He purchased land and resided there some years. The flatter¬ 
ing reports from the Nebraska territory claimed his attention, 
and he again removed with his family, to settle at Florence, 
Nebr., and buy a home there in 1857. 

JOHN K. SMITH enlisted in the Civil War as Captain of 
the Florence Rifles. Tiater the state was organized under U. 
S. military training and John Smith was made Commissary 
Sergeant Co. A, 2nd Nebr. Cavalry. After Nebraska became 
a state in 1867, John K. Smith bought land three miles north 
of Florence (now Omaha). He built a home there and planted 
the first orchard and vineyard in the county. 

His home was north of Florence on the Military road be¬ 
tween old Ft. Calhoun and old Ft. Omaha. It was well known 
to all who passed that way for its hospitality and generous 
entertainment. His was the first pretentious frame dwelling 
to be erected on the Military road and with its handsome 
barns, shade trees, and fences covered with roses, it became 
the habitual stopping place of wayfarers, ministers and school 
teachers. This home was suitably named by John K. Smith 
“Valley Rest.” Several of their younger children were born 
there, and at the time of this writing (1922), the two older 
sons, Jared Joel and Perry Douglas, reside upon the original 
estate, and including Grandmother Charlotte Douglas Smith, 
five generations of Smiths have lived and some are now living 
upon the sunny slopes and generous lawns of “Valley Rest.” 
There John Keysar Smith died May 5, 1875. 

MARY ANN SMITH was at the time of her death a mem¬ 
ber of Plymouth Congregational church. She is buried at 
Prospect Hill cemetery, Omaha, Nebr. 



8 


JOHN SMITH GENEALOGY 


Children of JOHN K. SMITH and MARY ANN 
(SHEARER) SMITH. 

Azro, b. April 16, 1847; died young. 

Alma, b. Dec. 10, 1849, died young. 

Alonzo, b. Aug. 7, 1851; died young. 

Marietta, b. Jan. 4, 1853; m. Henry Young. 

Jared Joel, b. Aug. 10, 1855; m. (1) Carrie Oeta Patrick, 
(2) Priscilla Ward. 

Perry Douglas, b. Jan. 16, 1858; m. Emeline Weber. 

Thaddeus Royal, b. April 22, 1860; m. Carrie Daniels. 

Harriet Caroline, b. March 21, 1863; m. J. C. Crossley. 

Phebe Cora, b. April 6, 1866; m. Charlea H. Mullin. 

Angeline Leonora, b. Feb. 23, 1869; m. (1) Benjamin E. 
Pickering, (2) George F. Crane. 

ANGELINE® LEONORA SMITH, daughter of John Key- 
sar and Mary Ann (Shearer) Smith, was born at “Valley 
Rest,” Florence (now Omaha), Nebraska, Feb. 23, 1869. Mar¬ 
ried at “Valley Rest” Oct. 25, 1887, to BENJAMIN ELLS¬ 
WORTH PICKERING, of Steele City, Nebr, He was the son 
of John and Sophia (Turner) Pickering. Benjamin was born 
in Canton, Ill., Sept. 7, 1866, and died in El Paso, Texas, of 
pneumonia while there on a business trip, June 6, 1916. He 
was buried at Steele City, Nebr. Benjamin was a resident of 
Steele City for many years, living on a farm on the Kansas 
state line, building a home there at the time of his marriage 
to Angeline L. Smith. They both attended Doane College at 
Crete, Nebr., and there became engaged to wed. They settled 
on the farm called “Hillside,” and there one child was born, 
namd Bethel Leonora. 

Benjamin joined the Congregational church of Steele City 
while yet a young man. Angeline joined the Congregational 
church of Crete, Dr. Bennett, pastor, in 1886. Benjamin came 
to Kansas near Steele City, Nebr., from Canton, HI., with his 
parents, when he was but nine years of age, 

ANGELINE and BENJAMIN PICKERING, with their 
little daughter. Bethel Loenora, born Feb. 18, 1899, removed 




JOHN SiVIITH GENEALOGY 


9 


from their farm to Steele City, Nebr., and there became en¬ 
gaged in the banking business. A son, Doane Turner, was born 
to them there at “Rosehill, ” Dec. 27, 1892. After several 
years Benjamin and his family removed to Omaha, Nebr., and 
there Avery Benjamin was born, JMarch 22, 1898. The family 
later moved to Lincoln, Nebr., and settled permanently, the 
parents and three children joining the Vine Congregational 
church. Dr. Bullock, pastor. 

The children were all baptized in St. Mary’s Ave. Con¬ 
gregational church, Omaha, Nebr. 

Angeline remained in Lincoln after the death of Benjamin 
E. Pickering and married (2) at Arkansas City, Kansas, at 
the home of her married daughter. Bethel Brown, on Peb. 26, 
1918, to George F. Crane, of Steele City; born Monmouth, Ill., 
Feb. 25, 1859. 

Children of Benjamin E. Pickering and Angeline Leonora 
(Smith) Pickering. Children all by first husband. 

Bethel Leonora,^^ b. Feb. 18, 1889; m. Othel Brown; d. 

May 1, 1920. 

Doane Turnerb. Dec. 27, 1892; m. Roma Rush. 

Avery Benjamin,^® b. March 22, 1898; m. Florine Reed. 

BETHEL LEONORA,^^ daughter of Benjamin Ellsworth 
and Angeline Leonora (Smith) Pickering, was born near Steele 
City, Nebr., three miles south, on Kansas state line, Washing¬ 
ton County, Feb. 18, 1889. She moved with her parents to 
Steele City, Omaha and Lincoln, Nebr., where she attended the 
Universit}^ of Nebraska and subsequently married at the home 
of her parents April 18, 1911, Othel C. Brown, son of Alba and 
Mattie Brown of Woodlawn, Lincoln, Nebr. He was born at 
Woodlawn, Lincoln, Nebr., Feb. 22, 1889. Bethel Leonora re¬ 
moved to Arkansas City, Kan., with her husband, Othel C. 
Brown, and to them a little daughter, ROBERTA ANGELINE, 
was born March 9, 1916. The family removed to Omaha and 
while on a visit to her mother, Mrs. Geo. P. Crane, at 2535 R 
St., Lincoln, Nebr., Bethel Leonora (Pickering) Brown was 
stricken with the influenza and after an illness of four months 


10 


JOHN SMITH GENEALOGY 


passed away at her mother’s home, surrounded by her mother 
and brothers, aunt and friends and her stricken husband, May 
1, 1920. She was laid to rest near the grave of her father at 
the family burial ground at Steele City, Nebr. 

ROBERTA ANGELINE was four years old and was taken 
by her father to live with her Grandmother Brown at Wood- 
lawn, Nebr., where she is living at this time, 1922. 

DOANE TURNER PICKERING,i<> son of Benjamin and 
Angeline Pickering, was born at ‘ ‘ Rosehill, ’ ’ Steele City, Nebr., 
Dec. 27, 1892. He removed with his parents to Omaha and 
subsequently to Lincoln, where he attended the University of 
Nebraska for several years. He then married at Lincoln, Nebr., 
Nov. 29, 1916, at the home of the bride, ROMA AILENE RUSH, 
daughter of Dr. Charles Henderson and Daisy (Burford) Rush, 
of Lincoln Nebr. Roma Ailene, born April 14, 1895, Lincoln, 
Nebr. Doane Turner enlisted in World’s War, Camp Grant, 
Rockford, Ill., Officers training camp. 

Children of Doan T. and Roma (Rush) Pickering. 

ROMA SUZAINE,!! b. May 19, 1918. 

MARTHA ANN,i' b. July 27, 3921. 

AVERY BENJAMIN PICKERING,son of Benjamin E. 
and Angeline Leonora (Smith) Pickering, was born in Omaha, 
Nebr., March 22, 1898. He removed with his parents to Lin¬ 
coln, Nebr., where he finished high school and attended the 
University of Nebraska for several years, lie enlisted in the 
World’s War and was sent to Camp MacArthur, Waco, Texas, 
Officers training camp. After the armistice he returned to 
Lincoln and subsequently married at the home of her parents. 
Oct. 20, 1921, FLORINE ADELLE REED, daughter of Eugene 
and Adella (High) Reed, of Lincoln, Nebr.; born Dec. 5, 1899. 

Children of Avery B. and Florine (Reed) Pickering. 

BETHEL FLORINE,!! b. July 11, 1922. 



JOHN SJVIITH GENEALOGY 


11 


(Extra Note) 

According to the “Whitney Family Book,” Vol. I, SamueF 
Smith, brother of Thomas^, moved to Ridgefield, Conn., with 
Ebenezer^, and Thomas^*. Samuel married at Milford, Conn., 
Dec. 30, 1703, Rachel Lambert, daughter of Jesse and Deborah 
(Fowler) Lambert, of Milford, Conn. 

The throe brothers were the first settlers of Ridgefield, 
Conn., in 1709. Ebenezer married Jan. 3, 1710, Sarah Collins, 
who died March 16, 1760. 

In the Whitney Family Book, Vol. I, p. 27, he is said to 
be the “grandson” of John Smith, the early settler of Milford 
Conn., who married Grace Hawley, who died 1690.” 

“Daniel, a son of Ebenezer, married Betty Whitney, born 
1718; died 1798; their descendants number over 500 at the 
time this was recorded, 1898.” 

Ref.—New Eng. Hist, and Gene. Record, Vol. 45, pp. 

222 - 8 . 

Also, R. A. Smith, 31 Lion St., New Haven, Conn. 

Also, Everett Smith, Attorney at Law, Seattle, Wash. 




12 


SMITH LINE OP DESCENT 


Smith Line of Descent 

Smith Line of Descent—Generations. 

(1) —John Smith, m. Grace Hawley. 

(2) —John Smith, m. Phebe Canfield. 

(3) —Thomas Smith, m. Hannah Camp. 

(4) —Jabez Smith, m. Ruth Seymour. 

(5) —Abraham Smith, m. Mar}^ Baxter. 

(6) —Abraham Smith, Jr., m. Sara Crane. 

(7) —Jared C. Smith, m. Charlotte Douglas. 

(8) —John Keysar Smith, m. Mary Ann Shearer. 

(9) —Angeline L. Smith, m. (1) Benjamin E. Pickering; (2) 

George P. Crane. 

(10)—Bethel L. Pickering, m. Othel C. Brown. 

(10)—Doane Turner Pickering, m. Roma Ailene Rush. 

(10) —Avery Benjamin Pickering, m. Plorine Reed. 

(11) —Roberta Angeline Brown. 

(11)—Roma Suzaine Pickering. 

(11)—Martha Ann Pickering. 

(11)—Bethel Plorine Pickering. 



CANFIELD-SMITH LINE 


13 


Canfield-Smith Line 

THOMAS CANFIELD, immigrant ancestor, was born in 
England. The surname was also spelled Camfield or Camp- 
field. Thomas Canfield located first in New Haven, Conn., 
where he had a grant of land of three acres for a house lot. 
He remained in New Haven until 1647, when he removed to 
and permanently located at Milford, Conn., where he spent the 
remainder of his life. 

He married Phebe Crane of Milford and died at Milford. 
His will is dated Feb. 22, 1687, in which he mentions these 
three daughters, Sara, Phebe and Elizabeth, and his son-in- 
law, John Smith, Jr., and also his two sons, Thomas and Jeri- 
miah Canfield, who were the executors of his estate. He is 
the ancestor of all the Milford families. This family and their 
descendants have spelled their name Canfield in the records of 
Milford, New Haven, and Newark, Conn. 

Ref.—Conn. Genealogy, Vol. I; Savage Genealogy, 

Vol. I. 

Thomas Canfield was admitted to church in 1657. He 
was Sergeant of the Train Band, deputy to the General Coun¬ 
cil, 1674-76. He was granted four acres of land at Milford 
for supporting a gate. At Milford he had one and a half 
acres of swamp land in the west field and meadow east. 

He gave land to his sons, Thomas and Jeremiah. 

He represented Milford at General Assembly in 1686 and 
was made Lieutenant Thomas Canfield and taxed £154. 

Children: 

Thomas, bap. Mar. 9, 1654. 

Mary, b. P^eb. 14, 1655; died young. 

Sara, b. 1650; m. Josiah Pratt. 

Elizabeth, b. Feb., 1659. 

PHEBE, bap. May 8, 1656; m. John Smith, Jr. 

Jeremiah, 1667. 

Abigail, 1665. 




14 


CANPIELD-SMITH LINE 


Hannah, 1668. 

Mehitable. 

PHEBE CANFIELD, born April, 1652; baptized May 8, 
1656; married Jan. 23,1672, John Smith, Jr., of Milford, Conn., 
who was the son of John Smith and Grace (Hawley) Smith 
of that place. Phebe (Canfield) Smith, May 3, 1730. 
Children of John Smith and Phebe (Canfield) Smith. 
THOMAS, b. 1677, d. 1743; m. Hannah Camp. 

John. 

Phebe. 

Mary. 

Ephraim. 

Mercy. 



Mehitable 

Samuel 

Ebenezer 


THOMAS SMITH, son of John Smith, Jr., and Phebe 
Canfield Smith, was born at Milford, 1677; married Hannah 
Camp, daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Betts) Camp of Mil¬ 
ford. Hannah was born in 1677. Thomas Smith died at Titi- 
cus Mt. near Ridgefield, Conn., where he settled late in life. 


See John Smith Line. 



CAMP-SMITH LINE 


15 


Camp-Smith Line of Milford, Conn. 

NICHOLAS CAMP, an immigrant ancestor, born in Nas- 
ing, Essex Co., England, in 1606. He came to Wethersfield, 
Conn., and then to Milford, in 1639. The 250th anniversary 
of the settlement of Milford, Conn., was celebrated by the 
dedication of a Memorial Bridge, erected in honor of the 
founders of the town. It was intended that such a memorial 
should unite utility with the picturesque, and at the same 
time, be typical of the men and the time of settlement. 

It was thought this idea could best be expressed by a 
bridge of stone over the river upon whose banks their first 
habitations were placed, and near the spot where the first mill 
was erected. 

As all trace of the graves of the early settlers had long 
been obliterated and the stones destroyed, memorial blocks 
were suggested to keep in remembrance those men, and to 
give some data concerning them. One of these blocks is 
inscribed: 

‘‘Nicholas Camp 
Sara, his wife.” 

Ref.—History of New London, by Miss Caulkins. 

It is not known when he died. Some of his descendants 
are on the home lot at the present day and others left Milford, 
and were early settlers in new towns, and from them have 
sprung many influential men. 

The wife, Sara, gave birth to twins the second of Sept., 
1645, and died the sixth. The twins soon died also. Sara 
Camp was the first adult who died in Milford, Conn. She was 
buried in the garden of Rev. Peter Pruder, pastor of her 
church. 

After SARA’S death, the husband, NICHOLAS CAMP, 
married Catherine Thompson, widow of Anthony Thompson. 

He had a house and six acres, for a home lot at Milford, 
Conn. His name is on the list of free planters of that town, 





16 


CAMP-SMITH LINE 


dated Nov. 20, 1639. He joined the church Nov. 2, 1643; was 
taxed £199 of property at Milford in 1686. 

He died there in 1706. He married (1) Sara, who died 
Sept. 6, 1645, and married (2) July 14, 1652, Catherine Thomp¬ 
son, widow of Anthony Thompson. 

Children by first wife, Sara: 

NICHOLAS^, b. 1631; m. (1) Sara Beard, (2) Mehitable 
Bristoe. 

Edward, b. 1633; m. Mary. 

William, b. 1637; m. Mary Smith, Jan. 29, 1661. 

Mary, b. 1640; m. John Baldwin. 

Sarah, b. 1642; m. - 

Samuel and John (twins), b. 1645; died same week with 
mother. 

NICHO'LAS2 CAMP, born 1631; married SARA BEARD, 
daughter of Widow Martha Beard, whose husband died on 
shipboard. 

Nicholas and Sara Camp settled in Milford, established 
a home there. Children born at Milford, Conn.: 

SAMUEL, b. Sept. 15, 1655; m. HANNAH BETTS. 

Joseph, b. Dec. 15, 1657. 

Mary, b. July 12, 1660. 

Abigail, b. Mar. 28, 1667. 

John and Sara (twins), b. Sept. 14, 1662. 

SAMUEL CAMP, born at Milford, Conn., Sept. 15, 1655; 
married at Milford, Conn., Nov. 13, 1672. HANNAH BETTS, 
b. Nov. 12, 1652, daughter of Thomas Betts of Milford, who 
settled in Norwalk, Conn. Hannah died before 1688. Their 
daughter, HANNAH CAMP, born Jan. 31, 1677, at Milford, 
married THOMAS SMITH at IMilford, Dec. 2, 1699, and re¬ 
moved to Ridgefield. 

See John Smith Line. 

Ref.—N. H. Vital Records, Part I, p. 3; N. E. History 

and Gene. Record, Vol. 45, pp. 222-8. 




BEARD-CAMP LINE 


17 


Beard-Camp Line 

WIDOW MARTHA BEARD came from England with her 
husband and their children early in 16—. The husband died 
on shipboard and the widow with her children came to Mil¬ 
ford, Conn. 

Children: 

John. 

Jeremiah. 

James. 

SARAH, b. about 1633; m. NICHOLAS CAMP. 

SARAH BEARD, daughter of Widow Beard of Milford, 
married at Milford, NICHOLAS CAMP, about 1653. They 
settled at Milford and their children were born there: 

Children: 

SAMUEL CAMP, b. Sept. 15, 1655; m. Hannah Betts. 

Joseph, b. Dec. 15, 1657. 

Mary, b. July 12, 1660. 

Abigail, b. Mar. 28, 1667. 

John and Sara (twins), b. Sept. 14, 1662. 

SAMUEL CAMP, born at Milford, Conn., Sept. 15, 1655, 
married at Milford, Nov. 13, 1672, HANNAH BETTS, bom 
Nov. 12, 1652, daughter of Thomas Betts of Milford, and later 
Norwalk, Conn. Hannah died before 1688. Their daughter— 

HANNAH CAMP, born at Milford, Jan. 31, 1677; married 
at Milford, Dec. 2, 1699, THOMAS SMITH of Milford. They 
removed to Ridgefield, Conn., and were among the original 
proprietors of that place. Thomas Smith, born March 7, 1677, 
died 1743, near Ridgefield and near the New York state line. 

Their son, JABEZ^ SMITH (THOMAS,*^ JOHN,^ JOHN^), 
born Nov. 29, 1705, died at Ridgefield, Sept. 22, 1787; married 
Nov. 29, 1705, died at Ridgefield, Sept. 22, 1787; married 
RUTH SEYMOUR, June 12, 1729. She was born in 1707, and 



18 


BETTS-CAMP LINE 


died in 1776, and was the daughter of Matthew and Sara 
(Hayes) Seymour of Norwalk, Conn. 

See Smith Line, N. E., Vol 45, pp. 222-8. 

See Seymour Line, N. E., Vols. 70-71. 

THOMAS BETTS, ancestor of the American family, was 
born in Hertfordshire, England, 1618; died at Norwalk, Conn., 
1688. 

He came to America as early as 1639, being then 21 years 
of age. He then became one of the founders of Guilford, 
Conn. No record has been found of the ship in which he 
came. It is supposed that he came with relatives or friends, 
and being a minor his name has not been recorded, as was 
often the case. From his association with Governor Leete, and 
other Puritan forefathers, it is probable that religious persecu¬ 
tion drove him from his native land. 

He brought with him a Bible dated 1591, which is still 
in the possession of his descendents. 

Unfortunately the first leaves of the Bible are missing, 
and these may have recorded the name of his family birth¬ 
place and his father’s name. The first record avc have of 
Thomas Betts is also the earliest of its kind on the town 
records. In Book A, p. 1, Court Records, in Guilford, Conn., 
under the date of Aug. 14, 1645, it is recorded that Samuel 
Disbroe and Richard Bristoe and Thomas Betts were members 
of the church, and the French planters took their oath. 

Thomas Betts received several allotments of land, being 
one of the original forty settlers of Guilford. 

Beside the birth of his children there is little in Guilford 
records to record from 1644 to 1657. In 1657, Nov. 17, he 
sold his outlands and three years later his house lot. 

He removed to Milford, Conn., where he resided until 
1660, when he purchased a home lot of Nathaniel Eli and 
Ralph Keller in the town of Norwalk, which was afterwards 
his home. The General Assembly made him freeman of the 
town Oct. 13, 1664, which made him eligible to hold office and 
proves him a member of the church. His taxable estate was 





BETTS-CATMP LINE 


19 


valued in 1671 at £126 and he appears in the census of 1672 
with the largest family in town, consisting of eight children. 

There are many references to him in the records, usually 
conveyances of land, etc. He was a man honored and beloved. 
Two years before his death, Dec. 24, 1686, “the town did vote, 
John Gregory, Sr., and Mr. Thomas Pitch and Mr. Thomas 
Betts, Sr., for to be seated at the round table.” This was an 
especial mark of honor and respect, meaning a prominent posi¬ 
tion in the church, and only bestowed upon those most worthy. 

There is no record of the date of his marriage to his wife, 
Mary. She probably came with him to J^ngland as his first 
child was born in 1644 and no records were kept in Guilford 
between 1639 and that date. 

It is very likely that they were married in Guilford. Their 
children: 

Thomas, b. 1644. 

John, b. June 30, 1650. 

HANNAH, b. Nov. 22, 1652; m. Samuel Camp. 

Stephen, b. May 10, 1655; d. young. 

David-Daniel, b. Oct. 4, 1657. 

Samuel, b. April 4, 1660. 

James. 

Mary, b. 1646; m. John Raymond. 

Sara. 

Thomas Betts, Sr., died 1688, at 72 years. His wife died 
(1724).? 

Hannah Betts, born Nov. 12, 1652; married Samuel Camp 
at Milford, Conn., Nov. 13, 1672. Hannah died before 1688. 

See Camp line. 

Their daughter, Hannah Camp, married Thomas Smith, of 
Milford, Conn., and removed to Ridgefield, Conn. 

See Smith line. 



20 


SMITH-SEYMOUR LINE 


Smith-Seymour Line. 

The proven wills of the “Seamer’’“^‘Seymer” and ‘'Se- 
mare’’ of English birth are given in the New England His¬ 
torical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 71, p. 105. The will of 
John Seamer, Southhampfields, Essex County, England, and 
the will of John Seamare of Sawbridgeworth, Hersts County, 
England, of Oct. 7, 1605, are to be found in Vol. 70, N. E., as 
before stated. 

John Semare of Sawbridgeworth, Hersts County, England, 
was born about 1525 and was the grandfather of Emigrante 
Richard Seymar (or Seamer as it was frequently spelled by 
the earlier families of the name. In New England, America, 
the name was finally spelled Seymour, and especially by the 
Connecticut families). 

John Seymour is the earliest member of this line who has 
been positively traced; when he was born is not known. He 
evidently lived at Sawbridgeworth, Hersts County, England, 
from the time of his marriage to the time of his death. His 
burial took place Oct. 23, 1605. He left a will dated Oct. 7, 
1605, and it was proved Nov. 13, 1605, an abstract which may 
be found in Vol. 71, as stated above. 

Ref.—N. E. Reg. Vol. 71 pp. 105-6-7; Vol. 72, pp, 

105-7. 

John Seymour married (1) Nov. 11, 1560, Jone Andrew, 
who was buried Oct. 3, 1561, leaving no issue. He married (2) 
on the 9th of May, 1562, Dygory Porter, who survived him. 

Their son, ROBERT SEYMOUR, was baptized Nov. 30, 
1573, at Sawbridgeworth; married 1603, Nov. 14, to Elizabeth 
Waller; baptized Dec. 12, 1578; daughter of John Waller and 
Elizabeth (Bayford) Waller, niece of William Waller. 

(Burkes Baronetage and Peerage, P. 1577.) 

Their son, RICHARD SEYMOUR, eldest of their chil¬ 
dren, came to America. He was baptized Jan. 27, 1604-5. He 



SklTH-SEYMOUR LINE_21 

was one of the signers of the agreement to plat a colony at 
Norwalk, Conn. He was born at Sawbridge, England, and 
married (between 1630-1633?), on the 18th of April 1631, to 
Mercy Ruscoe; born 1610, at Sawbridgeworth, England; 
daughter of Roger Ruscoe of Sawbridgeworth, England. 
Mercy came with her husband to New England in 1638 and 
survived him. 

Their son, THOMAS SEYMOUR, baptized in Sawbridge¬ 
worth, England, July 15, 1632; died at Norwalk, Conn., Oct. 
1712. 

Ref.—N. E. Reg. Vol. 71 & 72, pp. 112 & 105. History 
of Fairfield, Conn. 

He married Hannah Marvin; born Oct. 1634; died 1680; 
daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Marvin. Thomas came to 
America when 6 years of age and lived in Hartford with his 
parents. His name appears on many pages of Norwalk history. 

He went to Norwalk in 1651 and died at that place, and 
his will is proved there. He was the only child of age at the 
time of his father’s death. As eldest son he succeeded to his 
father’s lands in Norwalk, where he lived until his death. 

His will was dated Sept. 22, 1712, and proved Nov. 7, 1712, 
by his second wife, Elizabeth. 

All the children were by his first wife, Hannah Marvin.) 

Children of Thomas and Hannah Seymour: 

John, b. Dec. 12, 1654; m. Prances Bushnell. 

Abagail, m. Thomas Picket. 

Mary, m. Josiah Bushnell. 

Elizabeth, d. young. 

Matthew, b. May, 1669; m. Sara Hayes. 

Rebecca. 

In his wfill Thomas leaves the (2) wife, Elizabeth, what 
she brought to him and half of the orchard and the use of the 
farm DURING WIDOWHOOD. 




22 


SMITH-SEYMOUR LINE 


(Ruth,® Matthew,® Thomas,^ Richard,^ Robert,^ John^) 

CAPTAIN MATTHEW SEYMOUR, of Norwalk, was the 
son of Thomas Seymour, and born at Norwalk, May, 1669, and 
died there in 1735. He married Sara Hayes, who was bom in 
Norwalk in Sept., 1673. She was the daughter of Samuel 
Hayes and Elizabeth (Moore) Hayes. Matthew was select¬ 
man from Norwalk for seven years and deputy to General 
Court 1712 and 1713. 

He was selected Lieutenant in 1710 and as Captain May 
26, 1729. His will was proven Jan 6, 1735, and names his 
widow and sons, Matthew, Samuel, Thomas, John and young 
son, Daniel; his married daughters, Hannah St. John, Eliza¬ 
beth Bouhton, RUTH SMITH, Sara Bouhton and Catherine 
and Suzanne. 

He appointed his second wife, Catherine, as executor. His 
next to the youngest daughter, Ruth, married at Ridgefield, 
Conn., June 12, 1729, Jabez Smith, who died at Ridgefield, 
Sept. 22, 1787, in his 82nd year. He was born at Milford, 
Conn., Nov. 29, 1705. 

Jabez^ Smith (Thomas,® John,® John,^) and Ruth Seymour 
Smith had a son, Abraham, who married Mary Baxter; their 
son, Abraham, married Sara Crane; their son, Jared C., married 
Charlotte Douglas in 1811. 

See Douglas and Smith lines. 



MARVIN-SEYMOUR LINE 


23 


Marvin-Seymour Line. 

The English home of the Marvins for a century and a 
half prior to the emigration to America was in the county of 
Essex. A hundred years before that there were several Marvin 
families living in and near Ipswich, Suifolk. 

The authentic family record traces to Roger Marvin of St. 
Stephens parish, Ipswich, who was born as early as 1430. 

The American ancestor of the Norwalk, Conn., families 
was Matthew Marvin, whose brother, Reinold, came to Ameri¬ 
ca also and settled and died at Lyme, Conn. 

The generations are from the first; Roger Marvin,^ b. 
1430 to John Marvin,^ John,® Reinold,^ Edward,® Matthew,® 
who came to America in 1635. Edward Marvin, Matthew’s 
father, had Edward, Thomas, Richard, Robert, elohn, Reinold, 
Elizabeth, and MATTHEW. 

Edward died at Great Bently, England, and was buried 
in St. Mary’s churchyard. His wife was Margaret. 

Matthew Marvin, immigrant ancestor, son of Edward and 
Margaret Marvin of Great Bently, England, was the first of 
the family to come to America. He took passage from Eng- 
lang to New England in the ship ^‘Increase,” Robert Lee 
Master. 

Matthew Marvin was born in 1660 at Great Bently, Eng¬ 
land, and married in 1622 Elizabeth, born 1604. 

He came to America April 15, 1635, bringing his family 
with him. 

He was one of the very earliest settlers whose names are 
known among the first people of Hartford, Conn., who formed 
the company thereafter known as Adventurers. In 1650 he 
located at Norwalk, Conn. It was said of him 200 years later 
that the name of Matthew Marvin was inscribed on almost 
every page of Norwalk’s early history. 



24 


MARVIN-SEYMOUR LINE 


Matthew was 35 and his wife 31 when they came to 
America with their four or five children. Four children were 
born to him in America. He died in Norwalk, Conn., in 1680. 

Matthew Marvin was a Puritan by blood. Devout, dis¬ 
creet, calm and sound in judgment he gained and held the 
confidence of his fellow citizens and discharged for them many 
offices of civil life. 

His wife, Elizabeth, whom he married in England, soon 
died and he married (2) Mrs. Alice Bouton of Hartford, Conn. 
Children by first wife Elizabeth: 

Elizabeth, b. 1624; m. John Omstead. 

Matthew, b. 1626. 

Mary, b. 1628; m. (1) Richard Bushnell, (2) Thomas Ad- 
gate. 

Sara, b. 1631; m. (1) William Goodrich, (2) William 
Curtis. 

HANNAH, b. 1634; m. Thomas Seymour. 

Abagail, b. 1637; m. John Bowton. 

Samuel, bap. 1648. 

Rachel, b. 1648; m. Samuel Smith. 

Lydia, b. 1651. 

Hannah Marvin, born 1634, daughter of Matthew uiid 
Elizabeth Marvin, married Thomas Seymour, the son of 
Richard Seymour of Sawbridgeworth, England. Thomas Sey¬ 
mour was born in England in 1632; baptized July 15, and died 
at Norwalk, Conn., the month of Oct., 1712. Hannah (Mar¬ 
vin) Seymour, his wife, was born in England in 1634, and died 
at Norwalk, Conn., in 1680. 

They were very prosperous and lived upon land which 
he inherited from the estate of his father at Norwalk. Thom¬ 
as Seymour’s will is dated Sept. 22, 1712, and proved Nov. 7, 
1712, by his second wife, Elizabeth. All the children were by 
his first wife Hannah. 

John. 

Hannah, b. 1654; m. Francis Bushnell. 



MARVIN-SEYMOUR LINE 


25 


Abagail; m. Thomas Picket. 

Mary, bap.; m. Josiah Bushnell. 

Elizabeth; d. young. 

MATTHEW, b. May, 1669; m. Sara Hayes. 

Rebecca. 

Captain Matthew Seymour, b. May, 1669, married Sara 
Hayes of Norwalk, Conn. She was born Sept. 19, 1673, and 
was the daughter of Samuel Hayes and Elizabeth (Moore) 
Hayes. 

Matthew Seymour was selectman from Norwalk seven 
years and deputy to the General Court 1712-1713. He was 
selected Lieutenant in 1710 and selected Captain May 26, 1729. 
His will was proven Jan. 6, 1735. He mentions in his will his 
wife and their children: 

Matthew. 

Samuel. 

Thomas. 

John. 

Daniel. 

Hannah St. John. 

Elizabeth Bouhton. 

RUTH SMITH, who was Ruth Seymour Smith. 

Sara Bouhton. 

Catherine. 

Suzanne. 

Ruth Seymour married at Ridgefield, Conn. Jabez^ 
Smith (Thomas,® John,^ John^). He was born Nov. 29, 1705, 
at Milford, Conn., and married Ruth at Ridgefield, June 12, 
1729. He died Sept. 22, 1787, at Ridgefield, at the age of 82. 

See John Smith line. 

Ref.—New Eng. Hist. Reg., Vol. 71-72, pp. 112 and 

215; Vol. 45, pp. 222, Smith line. 



26 


HAYS-SEYMOUR LINE 


Hays-Seymour Line. 

NATHANIEL HAYS or (liaise) of Norwalk, Conn., 
settled there in 1652. The name of his wife has been lost. He 
is recorded as having seven children in 1692. His name ap¬ 
pears many times in the history of Fairfield County, Conn., as 
a resident of Norwalk, serving on various committees. His son: 

SAMUEL HAYS, of Norwalk, born 1640, died April 7, 
1712; married at Norwalk, Elizabeth Moore, who died Nov. 
3, 1729. She was the daughter of Isaac and Ruth (Stanley) 
Moore of Farmington and Norwalk. Norwalk records show 
her children named in a partition of estate as among the heirs 
of Samuel Hays and grandchildren of Isaac Moore. 

Sara, b. Sept. 19, 1673; m. Matthew Seymour. 

Isaac, b. Aug. 27, 1683. 

Ref.—Hist, of Fairfield, Co., Conn., Norwalk. N. E. 

Hist, and Gene. Reg., Vol. 70-71. 

SARA HAYS, born Sept. 19, 1673; married at Norwalk, 
Conn., CAPTAIN MATTHEW SEYMOUR; born May, 1669; 
son of Thomas Seymour and Hannah (Marvin) Seymoiu* of 
Norwalk. Matthew Seymour died 1735. 

The names of Haise, Seymour and Marvin appear on many 
pages of Fairfield County, Conn., History of Norwalk, as 
among the earliest settlers and acting on various committees 
of importance during the establishment of the town and county. 
Their daughter 

RUTH SEYMOUR, born 1707, married at Ridgefield, 
Conn., June 12, 1729, JABEZ SMITH, son of Thomas and 
Hannah (Camp) Smith, of Ridgefield, Conn. Ruth Seymour 
was the daughter of Matthew and Sara Hays Seymour, of 
Norwalk. 

See John Smith Line. 

See Seymour Line. 

Ref.—N. E. Hist, and Gene. Reg., Vol. 45, pp. 222-8; 

N. E. Hist, and Gene, Reg., Vol. 70-71. 



27 


MOORE-HAYES LINE 


Moore-Hayes Line 

ISAAC MOORE, of Norwalk, came from England to 
America on the ship Increase when but 13 years of age. He 
appears to have come without his parents and under the pro¬ 
tection and care of Matthew Marvin and his wife Elizabeth. 
They settled first at Norwalk, Conn., and later removed to 
Farmington, where he met and courted RUTH STANLEY, 
daughter of John Stanley of Farmington. Ruth had been 
living in the home of her uncle, Timothy, and at the age of 
16 she married at Hartford, Conn., Dec. 5, 1645, Isaac Moore. 
They early removed to Norwalk, where the Matthew Marvins 
lived and where their first child was born. She was named 
Ruth but called Elizabeth, after Mrs. Matthew Marvin, who 
had been as a mother to Isaac, during his first years in Nor¬ 
walk, and to whom he was bound by the strongest ties of love 
and friendship. 

Isaac Moore was prominent in the early settlement of Nor¬ 
walk, serving on various committees. On the 5th of March, 
1657, he was appointed to assist in erecting and providing a 
deep and sufficient wolf pitt. (See Hist, of Fairfield County, 
Norwalk, p. 517.) 

He was Representative to the General Court from Nor¬ 
walk, 1657, Sergeant in 1649, and in 1660 he was made Deacon 
of the Farmington church, where they had settled. Their 
children were born at Norwalk and Farmington. 

Ref.—N. E. Hist, and Gene. Reg., Vol. 12, p. 35; 

Savage. 

After the death of his wife, Ruth Stanley Moore, on the 
26th of May, 1696, Isaac married very late in life to Dorothy, 
daughter of Rev. Henry Smith. 

Children all by the first wife, Ruth. 

ELIZABETH RUTH; m. SAMUEL HAYES. 

Sara; m. John Norton. 

Mary; m. Wm. Lewis. 

Phebe; m. John Hart. 





28 


MOORE-HAYES LINE 


(There is a deed of partition dated Jan. 9, 1738-9, Nor¬ 
walk, Conn., between the heirs of Samuel Hayes of Norwalk, 
the heirs of John Norton, the heirs of William LcAvis, and the 
heirs of John Hart, all being grandchildren of Deacon Isaac 
Moore, Fairfield History Norwalk, p. 34.) This proves Eliza¬ 
beth to be the daughter of Isaac Moore, as the Norwalk Records 
show Elizabeth Moore to have married Samuel Hayes. The 
name Elizabeth is not recorded by Savage among the children 
of Isaac Moore but conclusive evidence has been gathered from 
Norwalk history to prove her to be identical with his first 
daughter named Ruth, later called Elizabeth. 

ELIZABETH MOORE was born in Norwalk in about 
1646-7, and died Nov. 3, 1729. She married at Norwalk, Sam¬ 
uel Hays, son of Nathaniel Hayse (Haise) of Norwalk. 
Samuel died April 7, 1712. 

Their children— 

Sara, b. Sept. 19, 1673; m. Matthew Seymour. 

Isaac, b. Aug. 27 1682. 

SARA HAYES was born Sept. 19, 1673, at Norwalk and 
was married at Norwalk to CAPTAIN MATTHEW SEY¬ 
MOUR, born 1669, died 1735, at Norwalk, Conn. Matthew Sey¬ 
mour was the son of Thomas and Hannah (Marvin) Seymour, 
of Norwalk. The names of Hayes Seymoiir and Marvin are 
inscribed in almost every page of Norwalk History of early 
date, these men being among the first to establish and settle 
the town—March 4, 1678. Nathaniel Hays assisted in erect¬ 
ing a meeting house, April 23, 1679. He was appointed to help 
build a fence about a wheat field.—(Fairfield History of Nor¬ 
walk, p. 524-519, etc.) 

Ruth Seymour, born 1707, died 1776, married at Ridge¬ 
field, Conn., June 12, 1729, Jabez Smith, son of Thomas and 
Hannah Camp Smith, born Nov. 29, 1705, d. Sept. 22, 1787, at 
Ridgefield. (Jabez,^ Thomas,® John,® John^ Smith of Milford, 
Conn.) 

N. E. Hish. Reg. Vol. 70-71. See Seymour Line. 

N. E. Hist. Reg. Vol, 45, p. 222-8. See Smith Line. 

“From the Stanley Families of America compiled by 




HAYES-STANLEY LINE 


29 


Isreal P. Warren, D. D., of Portland, Maine, 1887, p. 33.” 

JOHN STANLEY, the immigrant ancestor, was born in 
England, came early to America, and settled at Farmington, 
Conn. The name of his wife is unknown hut they were the 
parents of several children, born in England. 

Their daughter, RUTH STANLEY, born in England in 
about 1629, came with her parents to America when but a 
small child. She was reared in the home of her uncle, Timothy, 
and at the age of 16 was married to Isaac Moore at Hartford, 
Conn., Dec. 5, 1645. They removed to Norwalk where Isaac 
had been one of the first settlers, coming to Norwalk from 
England with Matthew Marvin and wife, Elizabeth, when he 
was but 13 years of age. After marriage he was later repre¬ 
sentative from Norwalk to the General Court in 1657. They 
removed back to Farmington and in 1660 Isaac was Deacon of 
the church. After the death of his wife, Ruth Stanley Moore, 
Isaac married very late in life, Dorothy, daughter of Rev. 
Henry Smith. 

Children were all by first wife, Ruth, who died May 26, 
1696. 

Ref.—N. E. Hist, and Gene, Reg. Vol. 12, p 35. 

Children: 

Elizabeth Ruth; m. Samuel Hayes. 

Sara; m. John Norton. 

Mary; m. Wm. Lewis. 

Phebe; m. John Hart. 

Elizabeth Moore, born probably at Norwalk, died at Nor¬ 
walk, Nov. 3, 1729; married Samuel Hays, son of Nathaniel 
Hays of Norwalk. Samuel was born in 1640, died April 7, 
1712. 

Their daughter, Sara Hayes, born Sept. 19, 1673, at Nor¬ 
walk, married Matthew Seymour, born 1669, died 1735; son of 
Thomas Seymour and Hannah Marvin Seymour of Norwalk. 

Their daughter, Ruth Seymour, born 1707, died 1776; 
married at Ridgefield, Conn., June 12, 1729, Jabez Smith, son 
of Thomas Smith of Ridgefield, Conn. 

See Smith and Seymour Lines. 



30 


BAXTER GENEALOGY 


Baxter Genealogy. 

In 1631 several Baxter families, in order to better their 
condition and enjoy religious freedom, emigrated from Shrop¬ 
shire. England, to Massachusetts. At Salem they became ac¬ 
quainted with John Throckmorton and were ex-communicated 
with him and went to Rhode Island. One family remained 
there with Throckmorton, two families settled in Westchester, 

N. Y. 

In 1642 the Dutch authorities granted permission to 
Throckmorton and thirty-five families to settle within 
three leagues of the Manhattoes, and on July 6, 1643, gave him 
a patent for land at Vreland-Throggs Neck, These dates fix 
a time for the Baxter arrival in Westchester County, N. Y. 

We begin the record with Thomas Baxter, yoeman of 
Westchester. In the assessment roll of Sept. 12, 1675, Thomas 
Baxter is mentionel as having eight taxable domestic animals. ^ 
In 1683 he had 24 acres of land, 1 horse, 20 cows, sheep and 
hogs. In 1684 he sold real estate. In 1686 he was in Governor 
Dougan’s second patent. In 1692 he had an Indian deed of 
Westchester. In 1694 he was examined as to methods of tax 
collecting. In 1696 he became an alderman bj" the charter and 
a juror in the Richbell case. 

Ref.—N. Y. Gene. Reg., Vol. 31, p. 1900. Vol 33. 

Baxter Genealogy by Francis Baxter, N. Y., pp. 27-24-36: 

pp. 48-62. 

In 1697 he was called Thomas Baxter, Sr., for the first 
time in a deed for 250 acres of Frogg’s Neck, July 1, 1714. 
He made a will, proved at Westchester, July 2, 1715, naming 
his wife executrix and his sons-in-law, John Palmer and 
Joseph Betts, executors. His children were: 

Elizabeth 

Keziah. 

Merrian. 

Phebe. 



BAXTER GENEALOGY 


31 


James. 

Abigal; m. Joseph Betts. 

Mary; m. Mr. Kenison. 

Dorkan; m. Mr. Tippet. 

Mrs. Palmer. 

Thomas. 

John, being eldest, inherited most. 

Thomas Baxter, Sr., left a widow, Rebecca. His widow 
Rebecca Baxter’s will, was probated in 1736. 

Their son, John Baxter, Sr., of Westchester, N. Y., was 
deeded land by his father on Frogg’s Neck, 1701. He married 
Mary, daughter of Isreal Honeywill. His will was probated 
April 10, 1727. 

He appointed Isreal Honeywill and William Forster exe¬ 
cutors, and his widow was given half of the personal property 
and the use of the buildings and lands and meadow after his 
debts were paid (in consideration of her bringing up his chil¬ 
dren), as long as she remained a widow and no longer. His 
son John was given the Long Reach between East Chester and 
West Chester, one-fourth the growing crops and the Indian boy, 
named Bohenah. The other boys were to be apprenticed to 
trade and therefore we conclude they were minors in 1727. 
Children of John and Mary H. Baxter were: 

John, b. 1706; m. Martha Close. 

Roger. 

Oliver. 

Isreal. 

Peracholus. 

Charity Stevenson. 

Charity Stevenson (unmarried) in 1722 was remembered 
in her grandmother’s will Dee. 22, 1736, N. Y. 

John Baxter, born 1706, inherited Long Island, 1727. In 
deeds book at White Plains is the West Chester entry June 1, 
1742, signed by John Baxter, Jr., receipting £19 from Isreal 
Honeywill in settlement of the latter’si promissory note, which 
had been lost Dec. 24, 1744. 



32 


BAXTER GENEALOGY 


No will of this John Baxter is recorded in West Chester 
County, N. Y. 

John Baxter of West Chester County, N. Y., Horseneck Pt., 
Ct., Miss Frances Baxter, Kane, Penn., says, appeared at Horse- 
neck Pt., Ct., about 1730, having come from West Chester. It 
is certain he moved to North Salem, New York, as early as 
1740. John Baxter married Martha Close, Jan. 25,1732, daugh¬ 
ter of Benjamin Close. Their children were : 

Pettit, b. Dec. 16, 1732. 

MARY, b. Mar. 11, 1734, d. 1802, N. Y. 

Thomas, b. April 22, 1739. 

Nathaniel, b, 1751. 

Stebbins, b. 1752. 

Austin. 

Patty. 

Huldah. 

Ann Jane. 



BAXTER-SMITH LINE 


33 


Baxter-Smith Line. 

Mary Baxter, born March 11, 1734, married Abraham 
Smith, Sr. He was born in Ridgefield, Conn., and they were 
married at or near North Salem, N. Y., 1752. She died June, 
1802, in West' Chester County, N. Y. Abraham, Sr., died in 
North Salem, N. Y., West Chester County, 1784. He was in the 
Revolutionary War. 

Ref.—(New York Men in Revolution.) 

Children of Mary (Baxter) Smith and Abraham Smith, Sr. 

ABRAHAM, JR., b. 1754, d. 1808, Bolton, Vt. 

Mary, b. 1756. 

Jabez, b. 1759. 

Ruth, b. 1760. 

John, b. 1762. 

Pettit, b. 1765. 

ABRAHAM SMITH, JR., born 1754, married Sara Crane, 
Nov. 19, 1778, at North Salem. Abraham was in the Revolu¬ 
tionary War, and afterwards moved to Bolton, Vt., with his 
family. They both died and were buried in Bolton. Sara 
Crane was born Sept. 5. 1757, died Oct. 20, 1829. She was the 
daughter of Col. Thaddeus Crane and Sara (Paddock) Crane. 
The mother, Sara Paddock, was the daughter of Peter Pad- 
dock, son of Zachariah Paddock, of Yarmouth, Mass., and 
Bertha (Hall) Paddock. 

See Paddock Genealogy. 

Jared Smith, son of Abraham, Jr., and Sara Crane Smith, 
married Charlotte Douglas of Chelsea, Vt. 

See John K. Smith Line. 

See Douglas Line. 



34 


ADAMS-BATXER LINE 


Adams-Baxter Line. 

Daniel Adams, born 1652, died Nov. 1713; married Sept. 
20, 1677, Mary Phelps, daughter of Samuel and Sara (Gris¬ 
wold) Phelps. Children: 

Daniel. 

Sarah. 

Samuel. 

Joseph. 

THOMAS, b. 1689, d. 1784; m. March 25, 1712, Martha 
Buttolph. Children: 

Benjamin. 

Mercy, 

Mary Adams, b. 1715; m. John Baxter. 

Their daughter, Mary Baxter, married Abraham Smith, Sr. 
See Smith Line. 



CRANE GENEALOGY 


35 


Crane Genealogy. (Alfred Holman, Cbicagfo.) 

1900, 2-1. 

Benjamin Crane, born about 1630 in England, was of 
Wetherfield, Conn., as early as 1655, and died there May 31, 
1691. Benjamin Crane married April 23, 1655, Mary Backus, 
who died July 8, 1717. She was the daughter of William and 
Sarah (Charles) Backus. Children; 

Benjamin, b. 1656. 

Jonathan, b. 1658. 

Joseph, b. 1661. 

John, b. 1663. 

Elijah, b. 1665. 

Abraham, b. 1668. 

Jacob, b. 1670. 

Isreal, b. 1671. 

Mary, b. 1673. 

LIEUTENANT JONATHAN CRANE, born in Wetherfield, 
Conn., Dec. 1, 1658, died Lebanon, Conn., March 12, 1735, mar¬ 
ried at Norwich, Conn., Dec. 19, 1678, Deborah Griswold, who 
was born in Norwich May, 1661, and died in 1704. She was 
the daughter of Lieut. Francis Griswold. Jonathan Crane was 
made Lieutenant Oct., 1703, and he was Deputy 17 years. 

Ref.—History of Norwich, p. 158; Wetherfield Land 

Records, Vol. 2, p. 10; Human, Vol. 1, p. 748. 

Children of Jonathan and Deborah (Griswold) Crane: 

Sarah, b. 1680. 

Jonathan, b. 1684. 

John, b. 1687. 

Mary, b. 1689. 

Hannah, b. 1692. 

Isaac, b. 1694. 

JOSEPH, b. 1696. 

Elizabeth and Deborah (twins), b. 1698; d. 1698. 

Abigail, b. 1700. (Pg. 21 Crane Line.) 



36 


CRANE GENEALOGY 


JOSEPH CRANE, born Windham, Conn., May 17, 1696, 
died at now South East Putnam County, N. Y., Aug. 21, 1781. 
He married at Fairfield, Conn., 1719, Mary Couch. She was 
born Dec. 15, 1695; died Jan. 9, 1766, and was the daughter of 
Samuel Couch. Children: 

Zebulon, b. 1721. 

Joseph, b. 1722. 

Mary, b. 1726. 

THADDEUS, b. 1728. 

Abigail, b. 1730. 

Anna, b. 1732. 

Stephen, b. 1734. 

Adah, b. 1736. 

COL. THADDEUS CRANE, born March 27, I 728 ; died at 
North Salem, West Chester County, N. Y., Sept. 1, 1803; mar¬ 
ried Sarah Paddock, who died Feb. 19, 1777. She was the 
daughter of Peter Paddock. Thaddeus Crane married (2) 
Mrs. Lydia (Read) Baxter, Jan. 13, 1779. She died April 26, 
1852. She was the widow of John Baxter. 

Children of Thaddeus and Sara (Paddock) Crane: 

(1) Daughter, b. Jan. 28, 1752; d. Feb. 7, 1752. 

(2) Thaddeus, b. March 2, 1753; d. Oct. 19, 1776. 

(3) Mary, b. Sept. 24, 1754. 

(4) SARAH, b. Sept. 5, 1757. 

(5) Jared, b. Oct. 23, 1759; d. Dec. 8, 1776. 

(6) Peter, b. Oct. 28, 1761. 

(7) James, b. Oct. 11, 1763. 

(8) Elizabeth, b. Nov. 7,1765. 

(9) Ruth, b. Oct. 27, 1767. 

(10) Abigail, b. April 17, 1770. 

(11) Thomas, b. Oct. 26, 1772. 

Ref.—Norwich Vital Records, Vol. 1, p. 8. 

Children of Thaddeus Crane and Lydia Baxter Crane: 

(12) Thaddeus, b. Dec. 31, 1780. 

(13) Fanny, b. Aug. 11, 1782. 

(14) Lydia, b. May 19, 1784. 




CRANE GENEALOGY 


37 


(15) Theda, b. May 3, 1786. 

(16) Weltheam, b. Dec. 27, 1788. 

(17) Gerard, b. Jan. 3, 1791. 

(18) Sally, b. Sept. 14, 1793. 

(19) Thomas, b. Fob. 13, 1797. (Pg. 48 Crane Genealogy.) 

SARA CRANE, born Sept. 5, 1757; died Oct. 20, 1829, at 
Bolton, Vt. She married at North Salem, Nov. 19, 1778, Abra¬ 
ham Smith, of North Salem. They settled at North Salem for 
a few years, but after the close of the Revolution, removed to 
the ilien growing state of Vermont. There they settled at Bol¬ 
ton, near the town called Richmond. The country was new 
and hardships many, but the young people reared a large 
familj^ there and remained there through life, and both are 
buried at Bolton, Vt. Children were: 

John Keysar, b. Nov. 29, 1785. 

Polly. 

Betsy. 

Lydia. 

Sarah. 

Thaddeus. 

George. 

A Vi 51 rn 

GERARD OR JARED, (1786). 

JARED C. SMITH, born near Bolton, Vt., 1786; died 
April 10, 1843, at Williamsville, Canada, West. He married 
Nov. 11, 1811, at Louisville, N. Y., to Charlotte Douglas, born 
Chelsea, Vt., 1789, died Florence, Neb., June 6, 1878. 

Their son, John K. Smith, married Mary Ann Shearer. 

See Smith Line. 

Ref.—History of Norwich by Caulkins, 1866, p. 158. 

New York Hudson and Mohock River Families. 

Connecticut Genealogy, Vol. AH. 



38 


BACKUS-CRANE LINE 


Backus-Crane Line 

The Backus family is one of the oldest in America, and in 
England the line goes back to Eegberht (Edgbert), the first 
King of England; from him to Cedric, the first King of the 
West Saxons. Tradition has it that this last named king 
was a lineal descendent of Woden (Odin), who was supposed 
to have been descended from the oldest son of Noah. 

There have been many distinguished men in this family 
in addition to these mentioned in detail above and below. 
Among these are Rev. Dr. Charles Backus of Somers, Conn., 
President of Yale College; Rev. Dr. A. Backus, a former Presi¬ 
dent of Hamilton College, New York; the Rev. Backus, a dis¬ 
tinguished Baptist minister of New England during the Revo¬ 
lution; the Rev. Samuel Backus, who married a sister of the 
celebrated Jonathan Edwards; and a number of other clergy¬ 
men equally noted. In other walks of life members of this 
family have become equally famous. 

William Backus is the immigrant ancestor. He is sup¬ 
posed to have come to this country from Norwich, England. 
His name appears as one of those who crossed in the “Rain¬ 
bow” in 1637. 

The town of Norwich was named as a mark of respect and 
esteem for William Backus; Norwich England, having been 
his birthplace. The fine Backus Hospital at Norwich also 
commemorates this fact. William Backus was at Saybrook 
in 1638 and was one of the original proprietors (No. 35), of 
Norwich who established the town in 1660. His death oc 
curred prior to May 7, 1664. He married (1) Sara Charles, 
daughter of Rev. John Charles of Cramford, Conn. He mar¬ 
ried (2) Ann Stetson. Children all by the first wife: 

William.^ 

Stephen; m. Sara Spencer. 

Sara; m. John Reynolds. 

MARY; m. Benjamin Crane. 



BACKUS-CRANE LINE 


39 


MARY BACKUS was married to Benjamin Crane of 
Wetherfield, Conn., April 23, 1655. She died July 8, 1717. 
Benjamin Crane was born about 1630 in England and settled 
at Wetherfield as early as 1655, and died there May 31, 1691. 
The children of Mary and Benjamin Crane were: 

Benjamin. 

JONATHAN. 

Joseph. 

John. 

Elijah. 

Abraham. 

Jacob. 

Isreal. 

Mary. 


JONATHAN CRANE, bom Dee. 1, 1658, Wetherfield, 
Coim., died at Lebanon, Conn., March 12, 1735; married at 
Norwich, Deborah Griswold, daughter of Lieut. Francis 
Griswold, born May, 1661, died 1704. 

See Crane Genealogy. 



40 


GRISWOLD-CRANE LINE 


Griswold-Crane Line. 

Ref.—Stile’s History of Ancient Windsor. 

Nashe’s Fifty Puritan Families, p. 93. 

Ancient Wetherfield, Vol. I, Chap. VII. 

Savage, Vol. I, p. 47. 

EDWARD GRISWOLD, of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, 
England, was the son of George Griswold of England. Several 
sons of George Griswold came from England in 1639. They 
were: Edward, Matthew, Thomas and Francis. 

Edward, the subject of this sketch, was born in War¬ 
wick in 1607, and married in England in 1630, to Margaret 

-. He came from Warwick County, England, in 1639, 

as an attorney for one of the Warwick patentees. He settled 
in Windsor, Conn., and the Colonial Records show him to have 
been an active and influential member of the Legislature. In 
1658 he was 1st Deputy to the General Court from Windsor 
and he served until 1662. He named the town of Killings- 
worth, which is now Clinton, Conn., after his old home town 
in England. He was 1st Deputy from Killingsworth to General 
Court and continued in that office as its Chief Magistrate and 
Representative for more than twenty years. Edward Gris¬ 
wold became Deacon of the church at Killingsworth, Conn. 
His wife, Margret, born in England, died at Killingsworth, 
and her tombstone is the oldest one in the Congregational 
church yard at that place (Clinton), today. 

Her death occurred Aug. 23, 1670. Their children were 
all born in England and came with their parents to America 
in the company of the Rev. Mr. Huit, in 1639, when they 
settled in Windsor. Children of Edward and Margret Gris¬ 
wold : 

PRANCES, b. 1629; England; m. 

Sarah, b. 1630; m. Samuel Phelps. 

George. 





griswold-crAne line 


41 


John. 

Ann. 

Mary. 

Deborah. 

Joseph. 

Samuel. 

John, again. 

LIEUT. FRANCES GRISWOLD, son of Edward and 
Margret Griswold, of Killingsworth, Conn., was born in Kenil¬ 
worth, England, in 1629; died Oct., 1671, at Norwich, Conn., 
and married Mary, daughter of Lieut Thomas Tracy. Lieut. 
Frances Griswold and William Backus were among the Paten¬ 
tees of the town of Norwich. Frances Griswold was called a 
man of capacity and enterprise. He settled at Saybrook, 
Conn., in 1655-1656, but was one of the proprietors of Norwich 
in 1660, taking an active part in the affairs of the plantation. 

From 1661 to 1671, inclusive, he was a Deputy to the 
General Court of Connecticut. In 1662 Frances Griswold was 
one of a company to form a Court of Commissioners. Children: 

Sarah, m. Robert Chapmen. 

Mary, m. Jonathan Tracy. 

Hannah, m. William Clark. 

DEBORAH, m. JONATHAN CRANE. 

Margret, m. Thomas Buckingham. 

Joseph. 

Lydia, b. June, 1633; d. young. 

Samuel. 

Lydia, again, Oct. 1771 (1671?) 

DEBORAH GRISWOLD, daughter of Lieut. Prances 
Griswold, was born at Norwich in May, 1661; married Dec. 19, 
1678, JONATHAN CRANE, son of Benjamin and Mary Backus 
Crane, of Wetherfield, Conn. He was bom at Wetherfield, 
Conn., Dec. 1, 1658. He died at Lebanon, Conn., Mar. 12, 
1735. They with others removed about 1690 to the land 



42 GRISWOLD-CRANE LINE 


granted to his father and others for a plantation in Windham 
County, known as Windham. Jonathan was very prominent 
in all the affairs of the new settlement. He was moderator, 
one of a committee for building a meeting house, assisted in 
settling town lines, had the first grist mill, was chosen Ensign 
of the first Train Band. He moved late in life to Lebanon, 
Conn., where he is buried and where his stone still stands. 
Some of his children were born in Windham. The grave of 
Deborah Griswold Crane is not marked with a stone in 
Lebanon cemetery. Children: 

Sarah, b. Nov. 16, 1680; m. Nathaniel Hibbard. 

Jonathan, b. Peb. 2, 1684; m. Mary Hibbard. 

John, b. Oct. 1, 1687; m. Sarah Spencer. 

Mary, b. Oct. 20, 1689; m. Jacob Simons. 

Hannah, b. March 7, 1692; m. Caleb Conant. 

Isaac, b. April 2, 1694; m. Ruth Waldo. 

JOSEPH, b. May 17, 1696; m. ? 

Elizabeth and Deborah (twins), b. Peb. 1698; d. same 
week. 

Abigail, b. Peb. 15, 1700; m. David Knight. 



COUCH-CRANE LINE 


43 


Couch-Crane Line. 

Simon Couch, of St. Mary, Otteray, Dovenshire, England, 
was made a freeman of Fairfield, Conn., Oct. 10, 1664. He 
was probably the son of Thomas Couch of Wetherfield, Conn., 
and related to Samuel Couch of Milford, Conn. Simon Couch 
married Mary Andrews, daughter of Francis and Ann (Smith) 
Andrews, of “Bankside,’' now Greenfarms, Conn. With 
John Adams he purchased of the mother-in-law, Anna An¬ 
drews, in 1663, all of her interest in houses and lots, and be¬ 
came a large land holder in Greenfarms, and long carried on a 
law suit with the town of Fairfield to recover lands claimed to 
have been bought from the Indians. 

Simon Couch owned part of the first “long lot,“ next to 
the Norwalk boundary. His Will, dated Dec. 22, 1687, pro¬ 
bated 1689, gives to the eldest son, Thomas, several acres of 
land in Greenfarms; his shotgun, cutlas and halters, to the 
second son; Simon, the homestead (except three acres of the 
homelot); a gun and short cutlas, to Samuel sov - so v; to 
his brother’s son, Thomas Couch, 40 shillings; and other 
relatives were mentioned in the will, as were the daughters, 
Sara and Hannah and Mary and Martha. The sons were to 
provide for the mother. 

He was buried on his own lot at Frost Point, looking out 
on the Sound, which he set out as a family burying place, long 
after known as “Couch Burying Hill.” Now obliterated. 

The Couch seal contains a small rustic cross nicely en¬ 
graved on it, being the name “Crouch.” 

Widow Mary died 1691, and the land fell to Samuel’s son, 
and Simon^ continued the claim of his father and other Bank- 
side owners to land in Fairfield, and in 1666 the claim was 
allowed, and settled in 1705. 

Samuel Couch^ (Simon^) was Captain of Militia, one of the 
richest men in Fairfield. He died in 1741. He married 



44 


COUCH-CRANE LINE 


“Ederi,” who was born 1674, and died Nov» 24, 1737, at the 
age of 63. Her last name has not been recorded. She renewed 
her covenant in the church May 3, 1696. Their children: 

Samuel. 

Ederi, bap. Aug. 27, 1698; m. Joseph Frost. 

Benjamin. 

MARY, m. Crane. 

Elizabeth, m. Todd. 

Solomon, m. Ruben Taylor. 

Abagail, m. Nathaniel Hibbard. 

John. 

Ebenezer, m. Lydia Hibbell. 

Samuel Couch, Sr., in 1701 was granted by the town 26 
acres of land at Port Royal, in exchange for his father ^s share 
in the long lot which was purchased in Kedding of the Aspos- 
chick Indians. 

His will is on record at Fairfield. His daughter, MARY 
COUCH, born Dec. 15, 1695, married Joseph Crane, 1719, son 
of Jonathan Crane. (See Crane Line.) 



ANDREWS-COUCH LINE 


46 


Andrews-Couch Line. 

Francis Andrews of Fairfield and Hartford, Conn., married 
Ann Smith. He was at Hartford in 1639. He died March 5, 
1662-3, leaving the widow, Ann, with considerable property. 
Their children: 

John. 

Jeremiah. 

Thomas. 

Abraham. 

Elizabeth. 

MARY, m. Siman Couch. 

Esther. 

Rebecca. 

Ruth. 

MARY ANDREWS married Simon Couch, early settler of 
Fairfield. Their son, Samuel, married Ederi. Their daughter, 
Mary Couch, married Joseph Crane, son of Jonathan Crane. 
(See Crane Line.) 



46 


PADDOCK LINE 


Paddock Line. 

Ref.—N. E. Hist. Reg., Vol. XII; N. E. Hist. Reg., 

Vol. VHI, p. 316 and p. 251. 

Robert Paddock, the Pilgrim ancestor, was settled in Ply¬ 
mouth in 1634 and had probably been there some time previous 
to that. He did not come to America on the Mayflower, but 
a number of his descendents married into the Mayflower 
families. He died in Plymouth in 1650. He married Mary 
-? Their children were; 

Robert, lived in Dartmouth. 

Mary, b. 1638; m. Thomas Roberts. 

ZACHARIAH, b. 1636; m. Deborah Sears. 

Abagail, b. 1640; m. Zachariah Eddy. 

Suzanne; m. John Eddy. 

George; m. Sara Richard. 

John, 1643; m. Ann Jones. 

ZACHARIAH PADDOCK, son of Robert of Plymouth, 
lived at Yarmouth, Mass. (Cape Cod), and died there May 1, 
1727. He was born in Plymouth in 1636 (see N. E. Hist. Reg., 
Vol 8, p 251; Yarmouth Barnstable, Mass., May 1, 1827.) 

Record states: “This day died here Mr. Zachariah Pad- 
dock in his 88th year of his age. He was born in Plymouth, 
Mass., in the beginning of 1640. He retained his reason to an 
uncommon degree, until his last sickness, which lasted but a 
few days. 

“He married in 1659 Deborah Sears, born in this town 
and now survives him, having lived together 38 years, and by 
the grace of God blessed him with a numerous offspring, 
especially in the third and fourth generations—having left 
behind him of his own posterity forty-eight grandchildren 
and thirty-eight great grandchildren, and of the latter sort 
no less than thirty descended from his second son. The old 
gentleman, his wife, and his son and his wife, lived for a con- 




PADX)0CK line 


47 


siderable time in a house by themselves without any other 
persons; when their ages were compiled together they 
amounted to above three hundred years. 

“Mr. Paddock has obtained the character of a righteous 
man, now near four score years and eight, and is well reported 
of for his good works.” 

Taken from the New England Weekly Journal, June 5, 
1727. 

Children of Zachariah and Deborah (Sears) Paddock born 
in Yarmouth: 

Ichabod was 17 years old in 1678. 

ZACHARIAH was 15 years old in 1679. 

Elizabeth was 13 years old in 1679. 

John was 10 years old in 1679. 

Robert was 8 years old in 1678. 

Joseph was 4 years old in 1678. 

Nathaniel was 1 year old in 1678. 

Juda was born Sept. 22, 1678. 

Of these children three married sisters: 

ZACHARIAH,2 m. Bertha Hall. 

Capt. John, m. Priscilla Hall. 

Robert, m. Martha Hall. 

Judah, m. Elsie Alden. 

Ichabod, m. Miss Faunce. 

ZACHARIAH^ PADDOCK, son of Zachariah and Deborah 
(Sears) Paddock, was born in 1654 at Yarmouth, Mass. He 
married Bertha Hall, daughter of Deacon John^ Hall and 
Priscilla (Bearse) Hall. He died April 8, 1717. Bertha Hall 
was born in 1666; died March 8, 1707. Their children: 

Ichabod, b. J^me 1, 1686. 

Deborah, b. April 2, 1688. 

Elizabeth, b. Feb. 11, 1690. 

Zachariah, b. Nov. 10, 1692. 

James, b. Dec. 24, 1694. 

PETER, b. Dec. 27, 1697. 

Bertha, b. May 25, 1699. 



48 


PADDOCK LINE 


Mary, b. July 10, 1701. 

John, b. May 21, 1703. 

David, b. Aug. 12, 1705. 

Priscilla, b. Peb. 29, 1707. 

Hannah, b. Aug. 15, 1709. 

Anthony, b. Peb. 5, 1711. 

Charity, b. Dec. 9, 1696. 

Tabetha, b. Nov. 13, 1703-4. 

Ref.—Yarmouth Vital Records in Mayflower Descend- 

ents, Vol. IV, p. 188; Vol. Ill, p. 249. 

PETER PADDOCK, son of Zachariah and Bertha (Hall) 
Paddock, was born in Yarmouth, Mass., in 1697. He married in 
1720 Sarah Howes, daughter of Jonathan Howes. They 
moved to Southeast New York about 1740-50, and he died there 
April 10, 1760. Sara, his wife, w^as born in 1695; died Oct. 22, 
1776. They had several children who took an active part in 
the War of the Revolution. 

SARA PADDOCK, born at Denns (Yarmouth), Mass., 
married at West Chester, N. Y., Thaddeus Crane, born March 
27, 1728, died Sept 1, 1803, They lived at North Salem at the 
time of the Revolution and he was a Colonel in that War. 

Sara died Peb. 19, 1777. She was the mother of eleven 
children, several of whom were in the Revolution. 

Their daughter, Sara Crane, married Abraham^ Smith 
and moved to Bolton, Vt. 

Ref.—N. E. Reg., Vol. 45. (See Smith Line.) Crane 
Genealogy. (See Crane Line.) 



SEARS-PADQOjCK line 


49 


Sears-Paddock Line. 

Ref.—Savage IV, p, 46. Sears Gene., Vol 32, p. 57. 

N. E. Hist. Reg., XII, 220-2. Mass Gene., Vol I, p. 106. 

Richard Sears appears in our New England Colonial 
History, with the mention of his name in the records of Ply¬ 
mouth Colony Tax List in 1633, when he was one of forty-four 
persons assessed nine shillings in corn at six shillings per 
bushel. From Plymouth he soon crossed over to Marblehead, 
Mass., and was taxed there, as shown by the Salem list in 
1637-38. He also had a grant of four acres of land where he 
had formerly planted, from which it appears that he may have 
been in that plantation at some previous time. 

In 1639 he joined the Colonists under Anthony Thatcher, 
and went to Cape Cod and there founded the town of Yar¬ 
mouth. 

His first house was built on Quivet Neck, and he after¬ 
wards built another house a short distance to the northwest 
of his first home. In 1643 the name of Richard Sears appears 
in the list of inhabitants of Yarmouth able to bear arms. He 
was made a freeman in 1652, took oath of allegiance and 
fidelity in 1653, was Constable in 1660, a Grand Juror in 1652, 
and Representative to the Court of Plymouth in 1662. In 1664 
Richard Sears, husbandman, purchased for £20, from “Allis,” 
widow of Governor William Bradford, a tract of land at Sesuit. 
He died Aug. 1676, and was buried on Aug. 26, 1676. 

His wife, Dorothy Thatcher (sister of Anthony Thatcher), 
was buried March 19, 1678. It is not certain that she was his 
first wife or the mother of any or all of his children. There is 
a presumption that he was previously married and that his 
children may have been born of his former wife. So far as 
known his children were as follows: 

Paul, b. 1637-8. 

Silas, died at Yarmouth Jan. 13, 1697-8. 

DEBORAH, b. at Yarmouth Sept., 1639; d. Aug. 17, 1732. 
She married Zachariah Paddock. (See Paddock Line.) 



50 


HALL-PADDOCK LINE 


Hall-Paddock Line. 

Ref.—^Barnstable Records of Vital Statistics, p. 392. 

Hudson River and Mohock Valley Families, 

Boud^s History of Watertown, Mass. (Learned Gene¬ 
alogy.) 

JOHN HALL, emigrant ancestor of the Halls of West¬ 
minster, Vermont, and Troy, Hoosick Falls, New York, are re¬ 
corded to have come from Coventry, Warwickshire, England; 
in 1630 to Charleston, Mass. Perhaps he came in the fleet 
with Gov. Winthrop. John Hall was at that time 21 years of 
age. His name was Number 19 on the list of members of the 
First Church of Charleston at the time of its organization, July 
30, 1630. 

He was made freeman May 14, 1634; was of Barnstable 
in 1640, and of Yarmouth in 1653. His will was made July 
15, 1694, in which he mentions eight sons. He died July 23, 
1696, and was buried on his own farm. His first wife was 
Bethia Learned, by whom he had three children: 

Samuel. 

Sheba. 

JOHN. 

By his second wife, Elizabeth, he had: 

Joseph. 

Benjamin. 

Nathaniel. 

Gershom. 

JOHN^ son of John^ Hall and Bethia (Learned) Hall, was 
born at Charleston, Mass., in 1637. He died Oct. 14, 1710, and 
was buried in Dennis, now a part of Yarmouth, Mass., on Cape 
Cod. He was a Deacon of the Church at Yarmouth and lived 
on the old farmstead at Dennis, where he and his wife are 
buried. He married Priscilla Bearse, who was born March 10, 
1643, and died March 30, 1712. She was the daughter of 



HALL-PADDOCK LINE_W 

Austin Bearse of Barnstable, Mass., who came from South¬ 
hampton, England, in the ship ‘'Confidence,” April 2, 1638; 
age 20 years. 

Children of John^ Hall and Priscilla (Bearse) Hall: 

John, b. 1661; d. young. 

Joseph. 

BETHIA, b. 1664; m. Zachariah^ Paddock. 

John, again, 1666. 

Priscilla, b. 1668; d. young. 

Priscilla, again, 1671. 

Esther, b. 1672. 

Martha, b. 1674. 

Mary, b. 1676. 

Nathaniel, b. 1678. 

See Paddock Line. 




52 


LEARNED-HALL-PADDOCK LINE 


Learned-Hall-Paddock Line. 

Ref.—Mass. Gene., Vol. IV, p. 2507. 
Paddock Gene. 

N. E. Hist, and Gene. Reg., XII, p. 220-2. 


WILLIAM LEARNED was an inhabitant of Charleston in 
1633-1635-1636, and received a share of marsh land there Feb. 
11, 1637. The record of various parcels granted him makes it 
appear that he had more than 72 acres. He was made freeman 
May 14, 1634, and was subsequently Selectman. Feb. 13, 1636, 
he was a member of a committee to stint the common lands, 
and he was on various committees to lay out lots and bounds. 
Being a friend of the wheelwright he signed a remonstrance 
against the treatment of that worthy and was subsequently 
compelled by the church to renounce that action. He was on 
a committee to settle with the schoolmaster in 1638, and on 
Feb. 26 of that year was made a member of a committee to con¬ 
sider some things tending toward a body of laws. 

He was among those who attended the first meeting for 
organization of the town of Woburn, Dec. 18, 1641, and was 
one of the signers of the town orders of that town. He was 
one of seven to form the First Church of Woburn, which was 
gathered Aug. 14, 1642, 

On the 24th of November of that year lie gave up his lot 
for the use of the town, and received subsequently a grant 
including 72 acres laid out to his son, Isaac, in recompense of' 
abandoning his first lot. April 13, 1643, he was chosen con¬ 
stable and selectman, which ofHce he was again elected to Feb. 
9, 1645. He died just before the succeeding election. The of¬ 
fice of constable was an important one at that time and the 
collection of taxes was made by him that year. He died at 
Woburn March 1, 1642-7. Children: 

BETHIA. 




LEARNED-HALL-PADDOCK LINE 


53 


Mary. 

Abagail. 

Elizabeth. 

Isaac. 

His daughter, BETHIA, married John Hall of Plymouth, 
or Barnstable, Mass. (See Hall Line, and Paddock Line.) 



54 


BEARSE-HALL LINE 


Bearse-Hall Line. 

Ref.—New England Hist. Rec., Vol. 2, p. 65. 

Bond’s History of Watertown. 

Austin Bearse, the immigrant ancestor, settled at Barn¬ 
stable, Mass., in 1638. He came from Southampton, Eng¬ 
land, on the ship Confidence, April 12, 1638, at the age of 
twenty. His wife’s name has not been preserved. They are 
not buried at the old Farmstead burying ground at New Den¬ 
nis, Mass. (Hall & Howes yard.) Children of Austin Bearse: 

Mary, b. 1640. 

Martha, b. 1642. 

PRISCILLA, b. March. 10, 1643; m. Deacon John Hall 
at Barnstable, Mass. 

Sara, b. March 28. 1646. 

Abagail, b. Dec. 18, 1647. 

Hannah, b. Nov. 16, 1649. 

Joseph, b. Jan. 25, 1651. 

Hester, b. Oct. 2, 1653. 

Lydia, b. Sept. 1655. 

Rebekah, b. Sept. 1657. 

James, b. Julj’ 1660. 

PRISCILLA BEARSE, born March 10, 1643, at Barnstable, 
Mass., married Deacon John Hall of that place, settled at Yar¬ 
mouth, Mass., and their gravestones are to be found at New 
Dennis, in the Hall grounds. Deacon John Hall was the son of 
John Hall and Bethia Learned Hall, of Charleston, Mass.; set¬ 
tled at Yarmouth, Mass. The children of Deacon John Hall 
and Priscilla Bearse Hall were: 

John, b. 1661; d young. 

Joseph. 

BETHIA, b. 1664; m. Zachariah^ Paddock. 

John, b. 1666. 

Priscilla, b. 1668; d. young. 



BEARSE-HALL LINE 


55 


Priscilla, b. 1671. 

Esther, b. 1672. 

Martha, b. 1674. 

Mary, b. 1676. 

Nathaniel, b. 1678. 

BETHIA HALL, born 1664 at Yarmouth, Mass, married at 
Yarmouth, Zachariah Paddock, born 1654, died April 8, 1717. 
Bethia (Hall) Paddock died at Yarmouth March 8, 1707. 

Their son, PETER PADDOCK, born Dec. 27, 1697, at Yar¬ 
mouth, married Sarah Howes, 1720, daughter of Jonathan 
Howes of Yarmouth; died southeast New York. Peter died 
April 10, 1760. Sarah died Oct. 22, 1776. (See Paddock and 
Crane Lines.) 




56 


HOWES-PADDOCK LINE 


Howes-Paddock Line. 

Ref.—Mass Genealogy, Vol. IV. 

Mayflower Descendants, Vol, 6, p. 160-157. 

The family of Howes, Howys, Howse or De Huse, has an 
ancient English history, dating back to the Domesday Book 
and the Norman Conqueror, 1066. 

In that year William, the Norman, granted John De Huse 
a manor in Berkshire, England. In 1457 a branch of the 
family settled in Norfolk County, England, from which time 
Bestthorpe was the seat of the family for seven generations. 

Thorpe is old English for town or hamlet, the word Best 
meaning that the owners appreciated the fertility of the soil. 
There were: 

John (1) Howys, b. in Norfolk, 1457. 

Robert (2), who died 1508. 

THOMAS (3), who had a coat of arms granted him in 
1519 during the reign of Henry VIII; died 1555. He had 
James, Robert and Jeremiah. Robert (4) Howes, son of 
Thomas^, died 1618, married Ann of Caroltown Rode, whitlicr 
he removed and was succeeded at Bestthorpe by his eldest 
son, James. Robert (4) Howes also had, besides his eldest 
son, James, John and THOMAS. 

James (5) Howes, son of Robert^ Howes, married Tabathe 
Roope of Morningthorpe, or Thorpe Hall Manor, which has 
since been the Seat of the Howes familj^ 

This place was settled in 1186 by Heimy, son of Josiyn, 
who had it by the Vauxes by the Abbott of Bury. In 1198 
it was settled on the widow, who took the surname of Thorpe, 
sold to Gurness of Bogland Hall about 1412, in whose pos¬ 
session it remained until it came into the Roope family. 

THOMAS HOWES (5), son of Robert^, was the father of 
the American immigrant according to the authority of the 



HOWES-PADDOCK LINE 


57 


family history and of Rev. Ruben Wing Howes, D. D., of New 
York, who visited the English branch of this family to secure 
proof of the lineage presented. 

THOMAS HOWES^ son of Thomas Howes (5), was born 
in England in 1590 and came to America with his wife, Mary 
Burr, from County of Norfolk. In 1637 they lived in Salem, 
Massachusetts. About 1639, they settled in that part of Yar¬ 
mouth now called Dennis, Massachusetts. 

It is well established that he was a man physically 
strong and robust, of good moral character, of fair education, 
and was largely endowed with good common sense. That his 
character and standing were excellent in the community 
where he lived is proved by the prominent part he took in 
the formation of the township where he located, and by the 
many official duties he was elected to perform in the work 
of perfecting and developing its interests. 

He took the oath of allegiance in January, 1639, and was 
one of the first committee to divide the planting lands. He 
was constable in 1644, on the Council of War in 1658, was 
often Deputy to General Court in 1652-3-8-9, afterwards on 
other important committees. He died in 1655. On the eastern 
declivity of a hill on the northeast part of the family seat of 
Thomas Howes is the burial place of himself and many of his 
descendents. In the enclosure is a granite shaft, reared by 
the reverence of the posterity, bearing the following 
inscription: 

“Thomas Howes married Mary Burr; emigrated in 1637 
from England; brought three sons, Thomas, Joseph and Jere¬ 
miah, who died on the passage.” 

This monument was erected in 1836. Descendents living 
at Dennis, 345; in Chatham, 133; in other places, 396. His 
Will, dated Sept. 26, 1665, naming wife and three sons. In 
March following she was administratrix. Children: 

Joseph, b. England. 



58 


HOWES-PADDOCK LINE 


Thomas, b. England; m. 1656, Sarah Bangs, daughter of 
Edward Bangs, who married Lydia Hicks, daughter of Robert 
Hicks and Margret, of England. 

SARA HOWES, daughter of Jonathan Howes, son of 
Thomas Howes, married Peter Paddock. (See Paddock Line.) 

Note: The New England Genealogical Society of Boston 
has a copy of the inscription on the stones in the Hall and 
Paddock yards, which Hanna Paddock, of East Dennis, Massa¬ 
chusetts, made years ago. 

In 1834 a monument was erected in the Howes yard to 
Thomas Howes and his wife, Mary Burr, with the inscription: 

“ ^Twas from the central part of Brittons Isle they came 

And on Columbia’s soil did propagate a name: 

We, their descendents, the Patriarchs own, 

And to the first Howes do dedicate this stone.” 

From Hanna Hall Paddock 
To Angeline Smith Crane, 
Boston, Massachusetts, 

Dec. 16, 1921. 


V.' - 




BANGS-HOWES LINE 


59 


Bangs-Howes Line 

Ref.—Bang’s Genealogv; Massachusetts Genealogy, 

Vol. III. p 1566. 

The name Bangs is identical with Banks and is ancient in 
England. William De Banc was living in Cambridge, Eng¬ 
land, in 1130, and from him descended the familj^ of Banks 
of Dorset, England. 

The name was common in England in 1690, and there 
were families of the name living in the Counties Darby, Lan¬ 
caster, Lincoln, York, Northhampton, and North and East 
Riding. The family coat-of-arms is: Sable, a cross engrailed, 
ermine between four fleur de lis; or a crest and moose head 
fullfaced, couped at the shoulder proper; or a head and cap 
maintaining gules turned up, ermine adorned with a crescent, 
issuant therefrom a fleur de lis, etc., etc. 

Edward Bangs, immigrant ancestor, was born in England 
about 1592, died 1678. He came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, 
in the ship Anne, arriving in July, 1623. Family tradition 
varies as to the place in England, from which he came; one 
branch sajdng that he came from Chilchester, County Sussex, 
and others claiming he was from or born near the Isle of Man. 
lie had four acres of land on the other side of Eel River in 
1623, and received the big lineback cow brought over in the 
Anne in 1627. He was one of the surveyors appointed to lay 
out the lots for a division of land in 1627. 

He was admitted as freeman in 1633, was assessor in 
1634-35-36, on the grand jury 1636-7, and on committees to 
divide meadow grounds. He was a shipwright by trade and 
was part owner of a barque for the Colony, which was built 
under his supervision in 1645. He was a freeman of Mansett, 
now Eastham, and in 1643 was on a list of those able to 
bear arms. 

In 1650 he was Deputy to the General Court and after¬ 
wards was town treasurer for Eastham from 1646-1665, and 



60 


BANGS-HOWES LINE 


selectman two years. In 1657 he was licensed as a merchant 
in Eastham. He agreed to furnish a horse and man at his 
own expense for the troop of horse from Eastham. His will 
is dated Oct. 19, 1677, proved March 5, 1678. He married 
Lydia, daughter of Robert and Margret Winslow Hicks, who 
came in the ship Anne in 1623. By his first wife Lydia 
they had: 

, John, m. Hannah Smalley. 

Joshua. 

Rebecca. 

SARA; m. 1656, Capt. Thomas Howes. 

J onathan. 

Lydia. 

Hannah. 

Bethia. 

Applua. 

Mary. 

SARA BANGS married Captain Thomas Howes of Barn^ 
stable and Dennis, Mass., 1656. (See Paddock Line.) 

Ref.—Mayflower, Vol. 6, p. 106; Mass. Genealogy, Vol. 
HI, p. 1566. 



HICKS-BANGS LINE 


Cl 


Hicks-Bangs Line 

ReT.—American Ancestry, Vol. 2, p. 55. 

Robert: Hicks married Margret Winslow in England and 
came from London to America with Robert Cushman and 
others in the ship Fortune, which followed the Mayflower, 
and landed at New Pl3"mouth, Nov. 11, 1621. (See Ilouen’s 
Emigrant.) 

Robert Hicks, younger brother, came to America about 
1630, and settled at Scituate, Massachusetts. (See Vol. I, 
American Ancestry.) These brothers were the sons of James 
Hicks of London, (whose wife Phebe is recorded to have been 
a daughter of Rev. Ephraim Allyne of Hertsfordshire, Eng¬ 
land, who was a son of Baptist, born about 1526, married 
Nancy, daughter of James Everhard). 

Robert Hicks, son of Thomas Hicks of Torntworth, (Glou¬ 
cestershire, England), which estate he inherited from his father, 
John Hicks, and on which estate he resided until his death. 
He married Joan Darney. This Thomas was the eldest son of 
John Hicks, who was lineally descended from Sir Ellis Hicks, 
who was knighted by Edward the Black Prince at the battle 
of Poictiers, Sept. 19, 1356. (See Foster’s Edition, 1881, p. 
311, in English Baronetage.) 

The lineage of Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Baronet of Bever- 
stono, Worcestershire, is traced to Robert Hicks, son of John 
Hicks, of Tortworth (Eng.), estate. 

Robert Hicks married (2) Margret Winslow, and their 
daughter l^ydia married Edward Bangs of Pl\^mouth, Mass. 
He was born in England about 1592, and died in 1678 at 
Plymouth. He came to America in the ship Anne, 1623. 

Edward Bangs and Lydia Hicks Bangs settled in Ply- 
moutli, and their daughter, Sara Bangs, married Captain 
Thomas Howes of Barnstable and Dennis, Mass., in 1656. 

Edward Bangs’ second wife was Rebecca Hobert. (See 
Paddock Line.) 

Ma.yflower Descendent, Vol. 6, p. 106; Mass. Genealogj'', 
Vol. HI, p. 1566. 




DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 
of 

ANGELINE L. SMITH 
(Pickering) 

CRANE 

2535 R St., Lincoln, Nebr. 
and 

of her children 

BETHEL LEONORA PICKERING BROWN 
DOANE TURNER PICKERING 
AVERY BENJAMIN PICKERING 
and 

of their children 



. i 


DOUGLAS LINE OF DESCENT 


65 


Douglas Line of Descent 

Douglas Women 

(1) —Wm. Douglas; m. Ann Mattie (England). 

(2) —Wm. Douglas; m. Abiah Hough. 

(3) —Richard Douglas; m. Margret Abel. 

(4) —William Douglas; m. Sarah Denison. 

(5) —William Douglas; m. Mary Lucas. 

(6) —Ivory Douglas; m. Phebe Smith. 

(7) —Charlotte Douglas; m. Jared C. Smith. 

(8) —John Keysar Smith; m. Mary Ann Shearer. 

(9) —Angeline L. Smith; m. (1) Benjamin E. Pickering, (2) 

George F. Crane. 

(10) —Bethel L. Pickering; m. Othel C. Brown. 

(10)—Doane Turner Pickering; m. Roma Ailene Rush. 

(10) —Avery Benjamin Pickering; m. Florine Reed. 

(11) —Roberta Angeline Brown. 

(11)—Roma Suzaine Pickering. 

(11)—Martha Ann Pickering. 

(11)—Bethel Florine Pickering. , 



66 


DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


Douglas Genealogy 

Ref.—Prom the Douglas Genealogy, printed in 1879. 

ROBERT DOUGLAS, father of Deacon William Douglas^, 
of America, was born in Scotland. 

DEACON WILLIAM DOUGLAS was born in Scotland 
about 1610. He came with his wife, ANN MATTLE, to Amer¬ 
ica in 1640, bringing her inheritance with them. He settled 
at Gloucester, Mass., but removed to Boston the same year. 
His name is on the Boston records, dated Aug. 31, 1640, say¬ 
ing: “William Douglas is allowed to be a townsman, he 
behaving himself as becometh a Christian.” 

He removed the following year to Ipswich, Mass., accord¬ 
ing to the Ipswich Record, but returned to Boston in 1645, 
buying a home there in 1646. 

In 1660, William Douglas removed to New London, Conn., 
building a house there. He had land granted him there, Dec. 
9, 1667, for services to the town. This land has always been 
and is, I believe, to the present day in the possession of his 
descendants. A part of his house, built probably as early as 
1670, was intact in 1865. There is still a brass plate upon 
the house with the date of the erection upon it. William 
Douglas was quite a prominent man in the First Church of 
New London, being a Deacon. He also had a part in the 
town affairs. When he died in 1682, the pastor. Rev. Simon 
Bradstreet, wrote the following in his diary, which has been 
preserved: 

“July 26th, 1682, Deacon AVilliam Douglas, one of Ye 
Deacons of this Church, dyed in Ye 72nd year of his age— 
he was a Christian and this poor church will much want him.' ’ 

He served on various important committees connected 
with town affairs and was chosen deputy to the General Court 
in Hartford several times. William Douglas^ of America, 
died in New London in 1682. Children of William and Ann 
Mattie Douglas: 




_ DOUGLAS GENEALOGY _ g7 

Ann, m. Nathaniel Gary. 

Robert, b. 1639; m. Mary Hempstead (first born of New 
London). 

Elizabeth, m. John Chandler. 

Sarah, m. John Keeney. 

WILLIAM^, b. April 1, 1645; m. Abiah Plough. 

WILLIAM DOUGLAS^ was born at Boston, Mass., April 
1st, 1645; died March 9, 1725. He married at New London, 
Dee. 18, 1667, ABIAH HOUGH, who was born Sept. 15, 1648, 
and died at New London, Feb. 21, 1715. Abiah was the 
daughter of William and Sarah Caulkins Hough, of New 
I..ondon, Conn. 

William married (2) Mrs. Mary Bushnell, July, 1715, ac¬ 
cording to church records. Children were all born in New 
London and by his first wife. William Douglas^ was also a 
Deacon of the New London Church. 

Three of his children were baptized several years after 
they were born: 

William Douglas, bap. July 24, 1689. 

Richard Douglas, bap. July 20, 1709. 

Samuel Douglas, bap. March 6, 1709. 

According to birth his children were: 

Elizabeth, b. Feb. 28, 1668; m. Daniel Dart. 

Sarah, b. April 2, 1671; m. Jared Spencer, 1702. 

William, b. Feb. 19, 1672-3; m. Sarah Proctor. 

Abiah, b. Aug. 18, 1675; died Aug. 12, 1689. 

Rebecca, b. June 14, 1678; m. after March 15, 1725. 

Ann, b. May 24, 1680; m. Thomas Spencer, 1702. 

RICHARD, b. July 19, 1682; m. MARGRET ABELL. 

Samuel, b. about 1684; m. Sarah Olcott. 

RICHARD DOUGLAS-^, son of William and Abiah Hough 
Douglas, was born at New London, Conn., July 19, 1682; died 
1735. He married at New London, Dec. 7, 1704, MARGRET 
ABELL, daughter of Caleb and Margret Post Abell, of Say- 



68 


DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


brook, Conn. Margret Abell was born about 1682, and died 
April 18, 1752. Captain Richard Douglas was appointed First 
Lieutenant of the First Company Train Band of New Lon¬ 
don, May, 1726, and Captain, Maj% 1727. He became a sea 
captain of wealth. 

Ref.—New London Rec., Vol. 7, pp. 13-90; Douglas 

Gene., pp. 10-31-96-244. 

Children of Capt. Richard and Margret Abell Douglas: 

Jonathan, b. Oct. 30, 1705; m. Lucy Christopher. 

WILLIAM, b. Jan. 1, 1708; m. SARAH DENISON. 

Abiah, b. 1710; m. Joseph South Maryd. 

Caleb, b. 1714; m. Mary Moore. 

Margret, b. 1717; m. Capt. Nathaniel Coit. 

Richard, b. 1720; unmarried (removed to England). 

Samuel, b. 1722; m. Mary Denison. 

Elizabeth, b. 1725; died young. 

WILLIAM DOUGLAS^, son of Richard and Margret Abell 
Douglas, was born at New London, Conn., Jan. 1, 1708; died 
Nov. 27, 1787; married at New London March 4, 1730, SARA 
DENISON, born June 20, 1709, died May 12, 1797, daughter of 
George and Mary Wetherell Harris Denison. Sarah Denison 
was great granddaughter of Capt. George Denison and great 
great granddaughter of Elder William Brewster, founder of 
Plymouth Colony and Mayflower passenger. George Denison, 
father of Sarah, was a graduate of Harvard college, a lawyer 
and a man of importance. 

William Douglas was a Deacon of the New London church 
at the time of his death. He was also constable and a man of 
considerable importance. 

The children of William and Sarah Denison Douglas, all 
born at New London, Conn., were: 

WILLIAM, b. Feb. 7, 1731-2; m. MARY LUCAS. 

Elizabeth, b. Nov. 26, 1733; m. John Chapman. 

Margret, b. Oct. 4, 1735; m. - Braddick. 

Jonathan, b. July 4, 1737; m. Anna Colfax. 




DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


69 


George, b. July 16, 1739; m. Elizabeth Lucas. 

Abiah, b. Jan. 5, 1741; died 1816, unmarried. 

Lucy, b. Nov. 27, 1743; m. Daniel Starr. 

Sarah, b. Feb. 7, 1745; m. Daniel Latimer, 

Eunace, b. 1748; died unmarried. 

Richard, b. 1750; m. (1) Abigail Starr; (2) Mrs. Lucy 
Way Palmer. 

Lydia, b. 1752; m. Daniel Douglas. 

WTLLIAxM DOUGLAS^, son of William and Sara Denison 
Douglas, was born at New London, Conn., Feb. 7, 1731-2; 
married May 31, 1752, at New London. MARY LUCAS, born 
in 1737, died Jan 31, 1810. She was the daughter of Ivory 
and Mary Coit Lucas, of New London, and later, Ogletown, 
Delaware. William Douglas was Constable and also Collector 
at the Port of New London from 1764 to 1772. He died 
Oct. 1, 1805, at New London. Children of William and Mary 
Lucas Douglas were: 

AVilliam, b. Sept. 29, 1753; m. Lucretia Calkins. 

Margret, b. Feb. 19, 1755; m. Joseph Tinker. 

Mary, b. Dec. 25, 1757; m. Stephen Morgan. 

Caleb, b. April 16, 1760; rn. Grace Morgan. 

IVORY, b. 1761; m. PHEBE SMITH. 

Samuel, b. 1763; m. Deborah Morgan. 

Jonathan, b. Aug. 31, 1765; m. Abigail Lay. 

Sarah, b. 1767; died young. 

Daniel, b. 1770; m. (1) Lucy Douglas, (2) Amelia Douglas. 

Josiah, b. 1772; m. (1) Mary Griswold, (2) Mrs. Elizabeth 
Starr Biship. 

Richard, b. 1774; died young. 

IVORY DOIJGLAS^^ son of William and Mary Lucas 
Douglas, was born at New London, Conn., in 1761; died at 
New London while visiting at that place Aug. 1, 1825; married 
at Groton, Conn., 1782-3, to PHEBE SMITH, bom Aug. 11, 
1765, at Groton, Conn., daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth 
Denison Smith. 



70 


DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


IVORY and PHEBE SMITH DOUGLAS remained at New 
London several years; four of their children were born there. 
They removed to Chelsea, Vermont, in 1789, and settled there. 
Ivory was one of the first deacons of the Congregational 
church at Chelsea. He was Selectman 1791-1796. His Will is 
recorded on the Chelsea Records of 1825. 

He was drowned while bathing in the stream at his old 
home, where he was visiting in 1825. He left a widow and 
14 children. Phebe lived at Chelsea and was buried there 
Feb. 10, 1853. 

Their large family of children grew to maturity, except 
two. Some of the sons and daughters married and settled in 
what was then the far west; others remained in Vermont, 
where their descendents still live upon the home lot at Chelsea. 
Children of Ivory and Phebe Douglas, first four born at New 
London, others all at Chelsea: 

Elizabeth, b. Oct. 31, 1783; m. David Perkins. 

Denison, b. Feb. 10, 1785; m. Olive Baldwin. 

Phebe, b. Feb. 28, 1787; m. Christopher Douglas. 

Daniel, b. May 23, 1788; m. Sarah Messenger. 

Sarah, b. Feb. 12, 1790; m. Jonathan Jennings. 

CHARLOTTE, b. Oct. 29, 1791; m. JARED SMITH. 

Mary, b. May 22, 1793; died in Wisconsin, unmarried. 

Ivory, b. May 11, 1796; m. Experience Hackett. 

Lucas, b. May 11, 1796; m. Clarissa H. Reed. 

Theresa, b. -; m. Eleazer Baldwin. 

Henry, b. July 3, 1800; died young. 

Henry, b. Jan. 18, 1802; m. (1) Ruby Cilley, (2) Mrs. Jane 
Wilcox Simonds. 

Sheldon, b.-, 1803; died at age of 8 years. 

Royal, b. May 3, 1805; settled in Ohio and married. 

(Taken from Family Bible.) 

CHARLOTTE^, daughter of Ivory and Phebe (Smith) 
Douglas, was born at Chelsea, Vermont, Oct. 29, 1791; died 
at “Valley Rest,” Florence, Neb., June 6, 1878, at the country 





DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


71 


seat of her son, John Keysar Smith, with whom she lived. 

Charlotte Douglas married at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 
while there on a visit to her brother, Nov. 15, 1811, JAKBD 
CRANE SMITH, born near Richmond, Vermont, 1786. He 
died at Williamsville, Canada, West, April 10, 1843. Jared 
and Charlotte Douglas Smith settled at Louisville, New York, 
and from that place Jared enlisted in the War of 1812, in 
Capt. Benj. Willard’s Co., 1st Reg., New York Militia, and 
later in Capt. Hunt’s Co. from Vermont. Charlotte shared in 
the trials and deprivations during the War of 1812, and did 
her part by weaving and knitting garments for the soldiers 
encamped some distance from her home. With her babe on her 
lap on the saddle she rode many miles through the forest, 
surrounded by untold dangers from wild beasts and Indian 
foe, to carry food and clothes to her brave young husband 
who was stationed miles from her, and who was sulfering the 
hardships of war in order to serve his country. 

Several children were born to Charlotte and Jared Crane 
Smith at Louisville, New York, St. Lawrence County. After 
a number of years following the War of 1812, they removed 
to Canada and settled at Williamsville, near the St. Lawrence 
river. 

There they engaged in the lumber business and remained 
until the death of Jared C. Smith in 1843. The widow, Char¬ 
lotte, removed with her children (who were now grown and 
one of them married) back to Wisconsin. In Wisconsin three 
of her children married and settled, and there she made her 
home until the Civil War of 1861 broke out. At that time 
Charlotte moved with her widowed daughter, Charlotte, to 
Florence, Neb., to make her home for the remainder of her 
life with her son, John Keysar Smith, and with whom she 
lived at “Valley Rest,” his country home, near Florence, 
(now Omaha, Neb.), at the time of her death. She is buried 
beside her son at Prospect Hill cemetery, Omaha, Neb. 

Charlotte Douglas and Jared Crane Smith reared but four 
of their children to maturity: 



72 


DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


Lydia, b. 1812; died young. 

Thaddeus, b. 1815; ra. Amanda-? 

JOHN KEYSAR, b. Feb. 15, 1818, m. lAIARY ANN 
SHEARER. 

Charlotte, b. 1820; m. John Diffin. 

Angus, b. 1827; died young. 

Henry Douglas, b. 1825; m. Eliza Marsh. 

JOHN KEYSAR SMITHS son of Jared Crane and Char¬ 
lotte (Douglas) Smith, was born at Louisville, New York, St. 
Lawrence County, Feb. 15, 1818. 

He died at “Valley Rest,” Florence, now Omaha, Neb., 
May 5, 1875. He was buried at Prospect Hill cemetery, 
Omaha, Neb., and there his tombstone may be found near the 
grave of his mother, Charlotte (Douglas) Smith, and that of 
his wife, Marj^ Ann Shearer, whom he married at Rockport, 
Ill., June 11, 1846. Mary Ann Shearer was born in Lycoming 
County, Pa., March 12, 1825, daughter of Joel and Phebe 
(Blackwell) Shearer. 

Mary Ann Shearer Smith died at Omaha, Neb., May 1, 
1893, after having reared and educated her seven remaining 
children and having shared her home and protection with 
three orphans, who, with her own family, lived to mourn her 
death. She was a member of the Plymouth Congregational 
church at Omaha at the time of her death. John Keysar 
Smith was one of the Overland Band who went to California 
in 1849, returning to Illinois to join his little family, and 
from there they removed to Davis County. Iowa, buying a 
home there. They again removed west and settled perma¬ 
nently at “Valley Rest,” Florence, Neb. He was a Sergeant 
in the Civil War, Co. A, 2nd Neb. Cavalr 3 ^ He survived the 
war and died at his country home, “Valley Rest,” May 5, 1875. 

Children of John K. and Mary Ann Shearer Smith: 

Azro, b. April 16, 1847; died young. 

Alma, b. Dec. 10, 1849; died young. 

Alonzo, b. Aug. 7, 1851; died young. 

Marietta, b. Jan. 4, 1853; m. Henry Young. 




DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


73 


Jared Joel, b. Aug. 10, 1855; m. (1) Carrie Octa Patrick, 
(2) Priscilla Ward. 

Perry Douglas, b. Jan. 16, 1858; m. Emeline Weber. 

Thaddeus Royal, b. April 22, 1860; m. Carrie Daniels. 

Harriet Caroline, b. March 21, 1863; m. Jesse C. Crossley. 

Phebe Cora, b. April 6, 1866; m. Charles H. Mullin. 

AKGELINE LEONORA, b. Feb. 23,1869; m. (1) Benjamin 
E. Pickering, (2) George F. Crane. 

ANGELINE LEONORA SMITHS born at “Valley Rest,’' 
Florence, Neb., Feb. 23, 1869, married at that place Oct. 25, 
1887, BENJAJMIN ELLSWORTH PICKERING, born at Can¬ 
ton, Ill., Sept. 7, 1866; died at El Paso, Texas, June 6, 1916, 
son of John and Sophia Turner Pickering of Steele City, Neb. 
Benjamin Pickering is buried at Steele City, Neb. A stone 
marks his resting place near the grave of his oldest brother, 
Charles N. Pickering. After the death of Benjamin E. Picker¬ 
ing, Angeline was married at the home of her only daughter, 
Mrs. Othel C. Brown of Arkansas City, on Feb. 26, 1918, to 
George F. Crane of Steele City, Neb., who was born in Mon¬ 
mouth, Jackson County, Ill., Feb. 25, 1859. 

Children all by her first husband. 

Angeline and George F. Crane returned to 2535 R St., 
Lincoln, Neb., which had been the former home of Angeline 
Pickering, called “Maplehurst." 

Children of Angeline Leonora and Benjamin Ellsworth 
Pickering: 

( 1 )—Bethel Leonora^^, born in Washington County, Kan¬ 
sas, near Steele City, on Feb. 18, 1889, died at her mother’s 
home while on a visit May 1, 1920, Lincoln, Neb., and is 
buried at Steele City, near the grave of her father, Benjamin 
E. Pickering, where a stone marks her resting place. Bethel 
Leonora Pickering was married at Lincoln, Neb., April 18, 
1911 (an Easter wedding), to Charles Othel Brown, born at 
Lincoln, Neb., Feb. 22, 1889. They lived at Arkansas City 
several years and there one child was born: 



74 


DOUGLAS GENEALOGY 


Roberta Angeline^^, born March 9, 1918, at Arkansas City, 
Kan., daughter of Othel Charles and Bethel Leonora (Picker¬ 
ing) Brown, was the only child born of that union and was 
four years of age at the time of her mother’s death at Lin¬ 
coln, Neb., May 1, 1920, as the result of influenze. Roberta 
lives with her grandmother Brown near Woodlawn, Lincoln, 
Neb. 


(2) —Doane Turner Pickering^®, son of Angeline Leonora 
(Smith) and Benjamin Ellsworth Pickering, was born at 
Steele City, Neb/, Dec. 27, 1892, and married at Lincoln, Neb., 
Nov. 29, 1916, Roma Ailene Rush. She was born April 
14, 1895, and was the daughter of Dr. Charles Henderson 
Rush and Daisy Burford Rush of Lincoln, Neb. They settled 
at Lincoln, and two children have blessed their union at the 
date of writing: 

Roma Suzaine^^, born May 19, 1918, Lincoln, Nebr. 

Martha Ann“, born July 27, 1921, Lincoln, Nebr. 

(3) —Avery Benjamin Blackwell Pickering^^, son of Benja¬ 
min and Angeline Smith Pickering, was born at Omaha, Neb., 
March 22, 1898; married at Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 20, 1921, Florine 
Adella Reed, born Dec. 5, 1899, at Lincoln, Neb., daughter of 
Eugene and Adella High Reed of Lincoln, Neb. One child 
has been born to them at this writing: 

Bethel Florine^^ born July 11, 1922, Lincoln, Neb. 

Written by Angeline Leonora (Smith) Crane, 2535 R St., 
Lincoln, Neb. 



DOUGLAS WOMEN 


75 


Douglas Women—Grandmother’s—Generations. 

1— William Douglas; m. Ann Mattie. 

2— William Douglas,-' m. Abiah Hough. 

3— Richard Douglas; m. Margret Abell. 

4— William Douglas; m. Sarah Denison. 

5— William Douglas; m. Mary Lucas. 

6— Ivory Douglas; m. Phebe Smith. 

7— Charlotte Douglas; m. Jared C. Smith. 

8— John Smith Douglas; m. Mary Ann Shearer. 

Smith Women—Grandfather’s—Generations. 

1 — John Smith; m. Grace Hawley. 

2— John Smith; m. Phebe Canfield. 

3 — Thomas Smith; m. Hannah Camp. 

4— Jabez Smith; m. Ruth Seymour. 

5— Abram Smith, Sr.; m. Mary Baxter. 

6— Abram Smith, Jr.; m. Sara Crane. 

7— blared C. Smith; m. Charlotte Douglas. 

8— John K. Smith; m. Mary Ann Shearer. 

9— Angeline Smith; m. (1) Benjamin E. Pickering, (2) George 
P. Crane. 




76 


HOUGH-DOUGLAS LINE 


Hough-Douglas Line 

Ref.—Caulkin’s History of New London. 

Edward Hough of Cheshire, England, was the father of 
WILLIAM HOIKtH of Gloucester, Mass., a housewright, who 
came from Cheshire, England, probably in 1640, with Rev. 
Richard Blinman. 

William was married Oct. 28, 1645, to Sara, daughter of 
HUGH CAULKINS. He (William) was a Deacon and died 
at New London, Aug. 10, 1683. Children were: 

Hannah, b. July 31, 1646; m. John Borden. 

ABIAH, b. Sept. 16, 1648; m. WM. DOUGLAS. 

Sarah, b. Mar. 23, 1651; m. David Carpenter. 

Born after the family removed to New London: 

Samuel, b. March 9, 1653. 

John, b. Oct. 17, 1655; m. Sarah Post. 

William, b. Oct. 13, 1657; m. Ann Lathrop. 

Jonathan, b. Feb. 7, 1660; died young. 

Deborah, b. Oct. 21, 1662. 

Abagail, b. March 7, 1666. 

Ann, b. Aug. 29, 1667. 

ABIAH HOUGH, born Sept. 16, 1648, married Wm. Doug¬ 
las, Dec. 18, 1667; died Feb. 21, 1715, New London, Conn. 
William Douglas was the son of Deacon Wm. Douglas and 
Ann Mattie of England, who came to America in 1640 and 
settled at Gloucester, Mass. Wm. Douglas^ was also Deacon 
in the New London Church. (See Douglas Line.) 



CAULKINS-DOUGLASLINE_^ 


CauUdns-Douglas Line 

Ref.—Caulkin’s History of New London. 

Hugh Caulkins was one of the party that came to America 
with Mr. Blinman in 1640 from Monmouthshire on the border 
of Wales. He brought with him his wife, Ann, and several 
children. He settled with them in New London, Conn., and 
was one of the Selectmen in 1643-1648, inclusive. He was 
Commissioner for the trial of small cases, 1645, Deputy to the 
General Court, 1650-1651. He dwelt at New London about 
ten years and during that time was twelve times chosen Dep¬ 
uty to the General Court. He was Deacon of the Church at 
Saybrook, 1660. They had two sons, John and David. David 
remained at New London and inherited his father’s farm. 
John was one of the Proprietors of Norwich. Children of 
Hugh Caulkins and Ann, his wife: 

SARA, m. Wm. Hough in December, who was born Oct. 
28, 1645, died Aug. 10, 1683. 

Mary. 

John. 

Rebecca. 

ChUdreii of Sara Caulkins and her husband, Wm. Hough: 

Amlni h. 1648; m. WM. DOUGLAS^ Dec. 18, 1667, of 
Gloucester, Mass. 

Sarah. 

Samuel. 

Deborah. 

John. 

William. 

Jonah. 

Abigail and Ann. (See Douglas Line.) 




78 


CAULKINS-DOUGLAS LINE 


Note: “Hugh Caulkins’ early ancestor was one of the 
men who had a stockade about his house in Pequot, Conn., 
against the Indians. The meeting house and the mill were 
the other places protected by the stockades.” 

Another Note: “William Colkins or Caulkins, ancestor 
of Hugh, lived in the reign of King John, 1199-1216. He 
founded a hospital in Canterbury, England, which still bears 
his name.” 

Ref.—^History of New London, by Francis Caulkins. 

(See Hough-Douglas Line.) 



ABELL-DOUGLAS LINE 


79 


Abell-Dou^las Line 

BENJAMIN ABEL, or Abell, of Norwich and Saybrook, 
was the early ancestor of the Abell family, of which the fol¬ 
lowing was written. He was at Norwich in 1670. 

CALEB ABEL was the son of Benjamin and was in Ded¬ 
ham in 1665, removed to Norwich in 1668, and was married 
in July, 1669, to MARGRET POST, daughter of John Post, 
of Saybrook, Conn. Margret (Post) Abel died in 1700. 

Prom the Probate Archives of Norwich we find the Will 
of Caleb Abel, dated July 30, 1728, probated Sept. 16, 1731. 
“Being far advanced in years.” 

He mentions in his will the following persons: 

Wife, Mary (evidently second wife). 

Eldest son, Samuel, and sons. 

Caleb. 

John. 

Noah. 

Daughters: 

Experience, b. 1674. 

MARGRET, b. between 1674-1683. 

Johanna, b. Nov., 1683. 

Abagail, b. March 16, 1689. 

Hannah, b. Oct. 12, 1692. 

(Note) : Birth of all the daughters of Caleb Abell given 
in order in his will are found on the Norwich Vital Records, 
except that of Margret. 

Miss Caulkins, historian, in her sketch of Norwich, gives 
a sketch of Caleb Abell, Vol. I, p. 20. He married July, 1669, 
Margret Post, daughter of John and Hester (Hyde) Post, of 
Saybrook, Conn. 

Children of Caleb and Margret (Post) Abell: 

Samuel, b. Oct. 1672. 

Experience, b. Dee., 1674; m. John Hyde. 



80 


ABELL-DOUGLAS LINE 


Caleb, b. April, 1677. 

John, b. Dec., 1678. 

Theopolis, b. Nov., 1680. 

Johanna, b. Nov., 1683. 
MARGRET, b. between 1674-1683. 
Hannah, b. Oct. 12, 1692. 

Abagail, b. March 16, 1689. 


MARGRET ABELL, born between 1674 and 1683, married 
Captain Richard Douglas of New London, Dec. 7, 1704. He 
was a sea captain. He died in 1735. He was a son of Wm. 
Douglas and Abiah (Hough) Douglas. (See Douglas Line.) 
Ref.—Norwich, Vol. I, p. 66. 



POST-ABELL LINE 


81 


Post-Abell Line 

Rof.—New Eng. Hist. Reg., Vol. 4, p. 140. 

STEPHEN POST with his wife Eleanor came to America 
from Clamford, England, on the ship Griffin. On Sept. 14, 
1633, they arrived at Boston, Mass. 

He was a member of Rev. Hooker’s congregation which 
led the way through the wilderness to the colony then called 
Connecticut, in June, 1635. He later removed to Port Say- 
brook, Conn., and there died in Aug., 1659. His name is in¬ 
scribed on the monument in the old burying ground at Center 
Church, Hartford, in memory of the founders of that state and 
city. His wife, Eleanor, died Nov. 13, 1670. Children: 

JOHN, b. in England, 1626. 

Thomas, b. 1628. 

Abraham, b. 1629. 

Catherine, b. 1632. 

Ref.—Conn. Vital Records, Norwich, Part I, pp. 20, 66. 

Norwich, Vol. I, p. 20. 

JOHN POST, born in 1626 in England, married at Say- 
brook, Conn., HESTER HYDE, daughter of Wm. Hyde, Sr. 
John and Hester were married in March, 1652. They removed 
to Norwich and Hester died there Nov. 13, 1703. John Post 
died No. 27, 1710. 

Children born at Saybrook: 

MARGRET, b. Feb. 21, 1653; m. CALEB ABELL. 

Elizabeth, b. Feb. 22, 1654. 

John, b. April 12, 1657. 

Sarah, b. Nov. 6, 1659. 

Abagail, b. Nov. 6, 1664, at Norwich; died 1676. 

Samuel, b. March 8, 1668. 

Hannah, b. Oct., 1671. 

Lydia, b. March, 1674. 



82 


POST-ABELL LINE 


MARGRET POST, born Feb. 21, 1653, married CALEB 
ABELL at Saybrook, Conn., in July of 1669. Margret Post 
Abell died 1700. Caleb Abell died Aug. 17, 1731. On Dec. 
18, 1694, Norwich chose Caleb Abell to keep an ordinary or 
house of entertainment. 

CALEB ABELL of Norwich, son of Benjamin Abell of 
Norwich, married Margret Post in July, 1669. He died in Aug. 
1731. Margret Post Abell died 1700. They lived at Norwich, 
and the "Will of Caleb is on record at Norwich, probated 
Sept. 16, 1731. He married (2) wife Mary. 

Children, all by first wife: 

Samuel, b. Oct., 1672. 

Experience, b. Dec., 1674; m. John Hyde. 

Caleb, b. April, 1677. 

John, b. Dec., 1678. 

Theopolis, b. Nov., 1680. 

Johanna, b. Nov., 1683. 

MARGRET, b. between 1674 and 1683; m. RICHARD 
DOUGLAS. 

Abagail, b. March 16, 1689. 

Hannah, b. Oct. 12, 1692. 

MARGRET ABELL, born between 1674 and 1683, men¬ 
tioned in her father’s Will of 1731, married CAPT. RICHARD 
DOUGLAS of New London, Conn., Dec. 7, 1704. He died in 
1735. He was the son of Wm. Douglas and Abia Hough Doug¬ 
las of New London. (See Douglas Line.) 



DEjNISON INTRODUCTION 


83 


Denison Introduction 

Ref.—N. E. Hist. Reg., Vol. 23, p. 312; Denison 

Genealogy. 

Coat of Arms: “Bonus Gratis.” 

The origin of the name is uncertain. The name is spelled 
variously Denison, Dennison, Denyson, Dennistown, and is un¬ 
questionably ancient and probably of Norman extraction. In 
Patronomia Britannica is the following notice: “The Dennis¬ 
town of that ilk an extraordinary way of accounting for 
their surname. One Danjiel, or Daniel, (they say) probably 
of Norman extraction, settled in Renfrenshire, and calling the 
estate Danjieltown, assumed therefrom his sirname.” The 
family is unquestionably ancient; the name appearing in the 
charter of King Malcolm I, who died in 1165, but the Norman 
Danjiel is probably a genealogical figment. The English 
Denisons are said to have sprung from a cadet of this ancient 
house, who went from Scotland “temp” with Charles I, who 
fought at Marston Moor. We have no doubt this family is 
the same that Mr. Savage says came to America in 1631, on 
the ship Lion, with Eliot the Apostle, also with Winthrop, 
wife and son John and William Denison, and his wife Margret, 
and their three sons, Daniel, Edward and GEORGE. This may 
be inferred from the fact that the name William Denison 
stands third in the records of Eliot’s church in Roxbury, which 
says: “1653 Will Denison he brought 3 children to N. E., all 
sons—Daniel, Edward and George. Daniel married at Newton 
and was enjo3med to the church there. He afterwards re¬ 
moved to the church at Ipswich. It being highly probable 
that he would follow the fortunes of a man with whose noble 
character he must have become intimately acquainted during 
the tedious trans-Atlantic voyage.” 

From the few records existing relating to Mr. William 
Denison we learn that, having settled in Roxbury, he soon 




84 


DENISON INTRODUCTION 


enjoyed the esteem of his fellow townsmen. With seven others 
he took the oath of freeman on July 3, 1632, and was chosen 
constable of Roxbury, March 4, 1633. At Boston he served on 
important committees, among which was the boarding of 
vessels for the regulation of trade. Mr. Denison was one of 
the original donors of the free school in Roxbury. He was a 
man of substance and considerable means. 



DENISON GENEALOGY 


85 


Denison Genealogy 

William Denison, born in England about 1586, came to 
Roxbury, Mass., with his wife, Margret (Chandler) Monck 
Denison, and his three sons in 1631. William Denison married 
Margret (Chandler) Monck at Stratford, England, Nov. 7, 
1603. He was well seated in England at Stratford, but hear¬ 
ing of the then famous transplantation to New England, un¬ 
settled himself and recalling his son Daniel from Cambridge, 
removed himself and family in the year 1631 to New England. 
He settled at Roxbury and died there Jan. 25, 1653. His wife, 
Margret (Chandler) Monck Denison, died Feb. 23, 1645. Their 
children: 

John, bap. Stratford, 1605; educated a minister at Cam¬ 
bridge. 

William, bap. Stratford, 1606; soldier in Holland. 

George, bap. Stratford, 1609; buried there 1615. 

Daniel, bap. Stratford, 1612; New England, 1631. 

Sarah, bap. Stratford, 1615; buried 1615. 

Edward, bap. Stratford, 1616; New England, 1631. 

GEORGE, bap. Stratford, 1620; New England, 1631. 

CAPT. GEORGE DENISON, baptized Dec. 10, 1620, son 
of the first Wm. Denison of Roxbury, Mass., married about 1640 
Bridget Thompson, daughter of John and Alice Thompson. 
Her father was John Thompson, GENTLEMAN, of Preston, 
Northhamptonshire, England. 

Bridget (Thompson) Denison died 1643, leaving two 

children: 

Sarah, b. March 20, 1641; m. Thomas Stanton. 

Hannah, b. May 20, 1643; m. (1) Nathaniel Chesborough, 
(2) Joseph Saxton. 

After Capt. Denison buried his wife, Bridget, he went 
back to England, and served as a soldier in the Army of 
Parliament, under Cromwell, and was wounded in the battle 
of Nasby and carried to the home of John Borodell, and there 



86 


DENISON GENEALOGY 


he was nursed back to health. Later Capt. Denison married 
the daughter of John Borodell, named Ann, and returned to 
New England in the year 1645. He settled again in Roxbury, 
Mass., where he lived until 1651, when he came with his famil}- 
to Connecticut and settled in Stonington in 1654. 

Capt. Denison was captain of New London forces in 
King Philip’s war with Capt. John Mason, Jr., under Major 
Robert Treat, in the great swamp fight, Dec. 19, 1675. 

He was in Hartford, Conn., attending the General Court, 
of which he was a member when he died, and was buried 
Oct. 24, 1694. Captain George Denison was appointed Provost 
Marshall of Naragansett County, Conn., in 1676; Deputy from 
Stonington to Hartford, Conn., 1669-1671; again 1678-1682; 
then he was re-elected 1688-85-86-87-89-93, and in 1694 he 
died there. 

He had lived a very useful and creditable life. He and 
his wife, Ann Borodell Denison, were both handsome and 
dignified persons, highly esteemed and honored. She was re¬ 
ferred to as “Lady Ann” by the townspeople. She died Sept. 
26, 1712, 97 years of age, and is buried in Elm Grove cemetery 
at Mystic, Conn. Their children: 

JOHN B., b. July 14, 1646. 

Ann, b. May 20, 1649; in. Gresham Palmer. 

Borodell, b. 1651; m. Samuel Stanton. 

George, b. 1653. 

William, b. 1655; m. Sarah Prentice. 

Margret, b. 1657; m. Janu's Brown, Jr. — 

Mary, b. 1659; died March 10, 1671. 

JOHN B. DENISON, born July 14, 1646, son of Capt. Geo. 
Denison, married Phebe Lay, Nov. 26, 1667. She was born 
1650 and was the daughter of Robert and Sarah (Fenner- 
Tulley) Lay of Saybrook, Conn. John B. Denison served in 
the Colonial Indian War and was in every way useful and of 
importance in the colony. He died in 1698. Phebe, his wife, 
died in 1699, age 49. Children: 




DENISON GENEALOGY 


87 


Phebe, b. 1667; died young. 

John, b. 1669; m. Ann Mason. 

GEORGE, b. March 18, 1671; m. Mrs. Mary Brewster 
Wetherell (Harris). 

ROBERT, b. Sept. 10, 1673; m. (1) Johanna Stanton, (2) 
Dorothy Stanton, cousin, 1719. 

William, b. April 7, 1677; m. Mary Avery. 

DANIEL, b. March 28, 1680; m. (1) Mary Stanton, (2) 
Jane Cogswell. 

Samuel, b. Feb. 23, 1683; died young. 

Ann, b. Oct. 3, 1684; m. (1) Samuel Minor, (2) Edward 
Denison. 

Sarah, b. July 29, 1692; married. 

Phebe,-; m. Ebenezer Billing. 

Note: 

George Denison, b. March 18, 1671; m. Mary Wetherell. 

Robert Denison, b. Sept. 10, 1673; m. Johanna Stanton. 

Daniel Denison, b. March 28, 1680; m. Mary Stanton. 

Each of these men is a direct ancestor of Angeline Pick¬ 
ering Crane through different family lines, viz: the Douglas 
and two Nathan Smith lines. 

Ref.—N. E. Hist, and Gene. Reg., Vol. 46. 

(John B. Denison®, Captain Denison^, Wm. Denison^) 

GEORGE^ DENISON^, third son of John B. Denison and 
Phebe (Lay) Denison, was born March 28, 1671; married Mrs. 
Mary Brewster Wetherell (Harris), born .., died 1711. Mary 
Brewster Wetherell Harris was the daughter of Grace Brew¬ 
ster, who married Daniel Wetherell. Grace was the daughter 
of Jonathan Brewster, son of Elder William Brewster, of May¬ 
flower fame. George Denison died 1720. Children: 

Daniel, Wetherell and six daughters. 

Their daughter, Sara Denison, born 1710, died May 12, 
1796; married Wm. Douglas, Nov. 4, 1730; Wm. Douglas was 
born Jan. 1, 1708, died Nov. 27, 1787. Children. 





88 


DENISON GENEALOGY 


Margret. 

Jonathan 

Lucy. 


William. 

Sara. 


Lucy. 

Sarah. 

Ruth. 

Lydia. 


Elizabeth. 


Abiah. 


Their son, Wm. Douglas, born Peb. 7, 1731, died Oct. 1, 
1805; married Mary Lucas May 30, 1750. She was born in 
1725; died Jan. 31, 1810. 

Their son. Ivory Douglas, born in 1761, died 1825; married 
Phebe Smith in 1782. She was born August, 1765, died 1853. 
She was the daughter of Nathan Smith and Elizabeth Denison 
Smith, of Groton, Conn. 

Ivory Douglas had a daughter, Charlotte Douglas, who was 
born in 1791; died June 6, 1878; married Jared C. Smith, 
Nov. 15, 1811. He was born in Richmond Vt., 1786, died in 
Williamsville, Canada, West, April 10, 1843. 

Their son, John Keysar Smith, bom Feb. 15, 1818, died 
May 5, 1875; married Mary Ann Shearer, June 11, 1846. She 
was born March 12, 1825, died May 1, 1893, Omaha, Neb. She 
was the daughter of Joel Shearer and Phebe Blackwell Shearer 
of Blackwell Manor, England. 

Their daughter, Angeline Leonora Smith, born Feb. 23, 
1869, married (1) Benjamin Ellsworth Pickering, Oct. 25, 
1887, at Valley Rest, Florence, Neb. He was the son of John 
and Sophia Turner Pickering of Steele City, Neb., born Can¬ 
ton, Ill., Sept. 7, 1866, died June 6, 1916. Angeline married 
(2) George Prank Crane, born Feb. 25, 1859, Jackson 
County, Ill. Children of Benjamin and Angeline Smith 
Pickering: 

Bethel Leonora; m. Othel C. Brown, April 18, 1911. 

Doane Turner; ra. Roma Ailene Rush, Nov. 29, 1916. 

Avery Benjamin; m. Florine Reed, Oct. 20, 1921. 





DENISON GENEALOGY 


89 


(Robe^t^ John Capt. Geo.^ Wm. Denison^.) 

CAPTAIN ROBERT DENISON^ fourth son of John B. 
Denison and Phebe Lay, was born Sept. 17, 1673; married (1) 
Johanna Stanton, 1696. She was the daughter of Robert and 
Johanna Gardiner Stanton. Johanna died in 1715 and Robert 
Denison married (2), his cousin, Dorothy Stanton. She, too, 
was the great granddaughter of Captain Geo. Denison and 
daughter of Sara Denison and Thomas Stanton. 

Robert Denison died in 1737. He and his first wife, Jo¬ 
hanna, settled at Mintreville, Conn., on land conveyed to him 
by Owanee the Sachem of the Mohegan Indians, Jan., 1709. 

Their son, Colonel Robert Denison, was born March 21, 
1697; married October 19, 1721, to Deborah Griswold, born 
1697, daughter of Matthew Griswold and Phebe Hyde Gris¬ 
wold. Robert settled at Mintreville, Conn., on his father’s 
land, but later moved to Nova Scotia and died at Horton, 
June 11, 1766. 

Their daughter, Elizabeth Denison, born Sept. 10, 1726, 
married (2) Nathan Smith. She died Feb. 14, 1813. He was 
born at Groton, Conn., Sept. 18, 1724; died at Washington, 
Mass., March 13, 1810; buried at Smith Lake cemetery, Gro¬ 
ton, Conn. 

Their daughter, Phebe Smith, born Aug. 11, 1765, married 
Ivory Douglas, 1782, at Groton, Conn. He was born in 1761, 
New London, Conn. They settled in Chelsea, Vermont, in 
1789. He was one of the first Deacons of the Congregational 
Church in Chelsea. He died in New London in 1825. 

Their daughter, Charlotte Douglas, born in Chelsea, 1791, 
married Jared C. Smith of Richmond, Vt., Nov. 15, 1811, at 
Louisville, N. Y. He was born 1786, died April 10, 1843, Wil- 
liamsville, Canada, AVest. He served in the War of 1812. 
Charlotte died at Florence, Neb., June 6, 1878, at “Valley 
Rest,” home of John Keysar Smith. 



90 


DENISON GENEALOGY 


Their son, John Keysar Smith, born Nov. 15, 1818, married 
Mary Ann Shearer, June 11, 1846, at Rockport, Ill. He died 
at “Valley Rest,” Florence, Neb., May 5, 1875, Mar}^ Ann 
Shearer, born in Lycoming County, Pa., died at Omaha, Neb., 
May 1, 1893, 2201 Spencer St. She was a member of Ply¬ 
mouth Congregational church. She was buried beside her 
husband at Prospect Hill cemetery, Omaha, Neb. 

(Daniel Denison^, John B.®, Capt. George^, William^) 

DANIEL DENISON, sixth child of John B. and Phebe Lay 
Denison, was born the 28th of March, 1680; married (1) Mary 
Stanton, (2) Jane Cogswell. Mary Stanton was the daughter 
of Robert and Joanna Gardiner Stanton. She was born Feb. 
3, 1687; married Daniel Denison Jan. 1, 1703; died Sept. 2, 
1724. Children, all by Mary Stanton, his first wife, who 
married Daniel when she was sixteen years old. Daniel Deni¬ 
son died Oct. 13, 1747. 

Their daughter, Mary Denison, born Aug. 29, 1705; mar¬ 
ried Nathan Smith, Dec. 25, 1723, at Groton, Conn. Mary 
died Feb. 20, 1793. Nathan Smith, born Sept. 16, 1702, died 
Dec. 4, 1784. Children: 

NATHAN^, m. Elizabeth Denison. 

Mary. 

Dorothy. 

Jane. 

Eliza. 

Oliver. 

Gilbert. 

Nathan^ Smith, born at Groton, Conn., Sept. 18, 1724, 
married Elizabeth Denison. Nathan died at Washington, 
Mass., March 13, 1810. Elizabeth died Feb. 14, 1813. She 
was the daughter of Robert Denison and Deborah (Griswold) 
Denison, of Lyme, Conn. Both were buried at Smith Lake 
cemetery, Groton, Conn. Their children: 

Phebe Smith, born Aug. 11, 1765, married Ivory Douglas' 
in 1782, at Groton, Conn. He was bom 1761, at New London, 



DENISON GENEALOGY 


I 

{ 


91 


Conn. They settled in Chelsea, Vt,, 1789. He was one of the 
first Deacons of the Congregational church there. He died at 
New London while there on a visit in 1825. Their children : 

Elizabeth, b. Oct. 31, 1783; m. David Perkins. 

Daniel. 

CHARLOTTE, b. 1791; m. Jared C. Smith. 

Henry. 

AVilliam. 

Ederessa. 

Ivory and Lucas (twins). 

Denison. 

Phebe. 

Mary. 

Sheldon. 

Royal. 

CHARLOTTE DOUHLAS, daughter of Ivory and Phebe 
(Smith) Douglas, was born at Chelsea, Vt., 1791, and was mar¬ 
ried to Jared Crane Smith at Lake Geneva, Wis., while visiting 
her uncle, Columbus Douglas, at that place Nov. 15,1811. They 
settled at Louisville, N. Y., in 1812, and from there Jared C. 
Smith joined Capt. Willard's Co., N. Y. militia, from Aug. 15 
to Oct. 15, 1812. Pension papers state they were married at 
Louisville, N. Y., 1811, but according to Douglas Genealogy 
they were married at Lake Geneva, Wis. Later Jared C. Smith 
enlisted in Capt. Hunt's Co., Vt. Militia, from Oct 5, to Oct. 
17, 1813. Jared C. Smith was born at Bolton (near Richmond), 
Vt., in 1786. He died at Williamsville, Canada, West, April 
10, 1843. 

His widow moved to Nebraska with her widowed daugh¬ 
ter, Charlotte Ditfin, and later died at the home of her son, 
John Keysar Smith, at “Valley Rest,'' a country seat near 
Omaha, Neb. 

Charlotte died June 6, 1878, at the age of 86. Hers was 
a life of interesting and thrilling experience during the war of 
1812, when she was a bride. 



92 


DENISON GENBADOGV 


Charlotte Douglas Smith and Jared C. Smith had several 
children. She was buried at Prospect Hill cemetery by her 
son, John K. Smith and his wife, at Omaha, Neb. Children: 

Lydia. 

Thaddeus; m. Amanda- 

Azro. 

JOHN KEYSAR; m. MARY ANN SHEARER. 

Charlotte; m. John Diffin. 

Henry Douglas; m. Eliza Marsh. 

Charlotte Douglas Smith moved to Nebraska after the 
marriage of her children and the death of her husband, com¬ 
ing in 1861 and bringing her daughter, Charlotte, and two 
grandchildren, Laura and Angeline, children of widow Char¬ 
lotte Diffin. They made their home with her son John K. and 
his wife, Mary Ann, who had a large family of young children. 
The large homestead dwelling was apparently ample room and 
Grandmother Charlotte was loved and enjoyed by all the 
happy and numerous children and grandchildren. 

JOHN KEYSAR SMITH, born St. Lawrence County, N. Y., 
Peb. 15, 1818, married MARY ANN SHEARER at Rockport, 
Ill., June 11, 1846. John Smith went overland to California in 
1849. He came home to Illinois by way of the Isthmus of 
Panama. He survived the typhus illness and arrived at home 
with his fortune in gold, but a weakened constitution. 

They then moved to Davis County, Iowa, and from there 
to Nebraska in 1857 while it was still a territory. They settled 
at Florence, now in Omaha, buying a home there. John K. 
Smith enlisted in the Civil War in 1682 (Pension Records). 
He was made Captain of Florence Rifles by Gov. Alvin Saim- 
ders the 24th day of April, 1862. Owing to continued ill health 
he served as Commissary Sergeant 1862-1864. In 1858 he took 
land granted him by the Government, which was located 
three miles north of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebr. 




DENISON GENEALOGY 


93 


They called the country seat “Valley Rest” and members 
of the family still live at the place. He died at “Valley Rest” 
May 5, 1875. Mary Ann died May 1, 1893. (Mother of Angie' 
Pickering Crane.) 

Children of John Keysar Smith and Mary Ann Shearer 
Smith are: 

Azro, died young. 

Alma, died young. 

Alonzo, died young. 

Marietta, m. Henry Weston Young. 

Jared Joel, m. (1) Carrie Oeta Patrick, (2) Priscilla 
Ward. 

Douglas, m. Emiline Weber. 

Thaddeus, m. Carrie Daniels. 

Harriet Caroline, m. J. C. Crossley. 

Phoebe Cora, m. C. H. Mullin. 

ANGELINE LEONORA, m. (1) Ben E. Pickering, (2) 
George P. Crane. 

Angelina married Benjamin E. Pickering Oct. 25, 1887, 
at “Valley Rest,” Florence, Neb. She was born at “Valley 
Rest” Feb. 23, 1869. Benjamin was born at Canton, Ill., Sept. 
7, 1866, and died at El Paso, Texas, June 6, 1916. He was 
buried at Steel City, Neb. Angeline married (2) George F. 
Crane of Steele City, Neb., Feb. 26, 1918. Children by B. E. 
Pickering: 

Bethel Leonora; m. Othel C. Brown, April 18, 1911. 

Doane Turner; m. Roma Ilene Rush, Nov. 29, 1916. 

Avery Benjamin; m. Plorine Reed, Oct. 20, 1921. 

Bethel died May 1, 1920, 2535 R St., Lincoln, Neb., leaving 
one child, Roberta Angeline Brown, born March 9, 1916. 




94 


LAY-DENISON LINE 


Lay-Denison Line. 

Ref.—Savage Vol. 2, p. 6.5. 

From Boston Transcript, Wednesday, Jan., 28, 1914: 
Robert Lay of Saybrook, born about 1617. As his grave¬ 
stone at Essex, Conn., says, he died July 9, 1689, age 72 years. 
He married Sarah (Fenner) Tulloys, daughter of Arthur Fen 
ner. Gentleman, and his wife, Sara Brown, of County Surrey, 
England. Sara Fenner married (1) John Tulleys, by whom 
she had a son, John, and a daughter. Her husband died in 
England and with her brothers, Ai’thur and William, she came 
to America. Arthur settled at Providence, R. I., where he 
was granted land jointly with his cousin, Henry Brown; and 
her brother, William, was of Newport, R. I., where his will was 
probated Sept. 6, 1680. Sara also had a brother, John Fenner, 
of Saybrook, Conn., and a sister, Phebe Ward. Robert Lay 
and Sara Fenner-Tulleys were married, according to Saybrook 
Records, in Dec., 1647. They had two children. 

PHEBE LAY, b. Jan. 5, 1651; m. John B. Denison, 1667. 

Robert Lay, b. March 6, 1654; m. Mary Stanton, 1680. 

Sara Fenner Lay died May 25, 1676, age 59 years. 

Robert Lay died July 9, 1689, age 72 years. 

(See Denison Genealogy.) 




LAY-DENISON LINE 


95 


Lay Family from Savage, Vol. 23, p. 65. 

Robert Lay, of Lyme, 1638, removed to Saybrook 1647; 
m December of that year he was married to Sarah (Fenner) 
Tulleys. They had two children: 

PHEBE, b. Jan. 5, 1651; m. John Denison, 1667. 

Robert, b. March 6,1654; m. Mary Stanton, 1680. 

Sarah Lay died May 21, 1676, age 59. Her husband, 
Robert Lay, died July 9, 1689, age 72. 

Phere Lay, born Jan. 5, 1651, died, 1699; married John B. 
Denison, born July 14, 1646, died, 1698. He was the son of 
Capt. George Denison and Ann Boradell Denison. 

They, Phebe Lay and John B. Denison, were married in 
1667. He served in the Colonial Indian War and was a man 
of importance. His descendents are many and his son, George, 
married Mrs. Mary Brewster Wetherell-Harris. (See May¬ 
flower Line.) 



FENNER-LAY LINE 


% 


Fenner-Lay Line. 

The Fenners were a prominent family in Surrey County, 
England. In the north aisle of the Parish church at Horley on 
a flat stone is a large brass figure of a woman with hands up¬ 
lifted and the inscription is this: “Of your charitce pray for 
the soule of Johan Fenner, late wyf of John Fenner, Centleman, 
which Johan deceased the 1st day of July in the yere of our 
Lord MVCXV on whose soule thou have mercy. Amen.’^ 

In 1635 Sir John Fenner of Kent, by his wdll, left the 
church wardens of ten parishes a farm at Ipswich, in Suffolk, 
for the poor and the sick and to buy Bibles. 

The maternal ancestry of Sarah Fenner can be traced 
back to her great grandfather. Rev. William Brown, who for 
more than fifty years was pastor of the parish of Horley in 
the County of Surrey, and his first wife, Magdelena. 

Rev. William Brown died in that Parish Nov. 14, 1615, 
and there is an interesting monument of black marble on the 
north wall of the chancel of the church containing a family 
chart, giving the names of his children and grandchildren. 

A transcript of this inscription and chart may be found in 
Manning and Bray’s History of Surrey. Sara Fenner’s mater¬ 
nal grandparents were Rev. Joseph^ Browne, son of William^ 
Browne, who for manj^ years was pastor of the parish of Rus- 
per in Surrey County, and his first wife, Mary, who was buried 
in Rusper, England, Pec. 15, 1605. Rev. Joseph Browne was 
buried Oct. 15, 1633. IBs will, dated June 16. 1633, is found 
in Chichester in which there are mentioned among others, 
his son, William,^ with a wife, Jane Burgess, and their sons, 
Thomas'* and Henryk, and daughter, Jane*; and his daughter 
Sarah®, wife of Arthur Fenner, Gentleman, and his daughter, 
Susan,® wife of Thomas Leachford, and their daughter, Phebe* 
Leachford; also his daughter, Phebe,® wife of William Simon. 

Of the Rev. Joseph Browne’s family many came to Amer¬ 
ica. His son, William,® was for a time at Saybrook, Conn.. 



FENNER-LAY LINE 


97 


and died in 1650 on Long Island. Two of William’s® daugh¬ 
ters, Phebe^ (Browne) Lee and Mary'* (Browne) Marvin, came 
over. William’s son, Henry,^ was in Providence, Rhode Island. 

Five children of Arthur and Sara (Browne) Fenner settled 
in Connecticut. Rev. Joseph Browne’s son-in-law, Thomas 
Leachford, may have been the lawyer of Boston, but he re¬ 
turned to England. Rev. Joseph’s daughter, Phebe, also came 
over with her husband, William Simonds. Descendents of 
the Browne family are not very numerous in this country. 

William® Browne married June 20, 1611, Jane Burgess. 
They had seven children. One of them, Phebe Browne, born 
in England, came to Rhode Island. She married Thomas Lee, 
who died on the passage over, 1640. Their daughter, Jane 
Lee, married Samuel Hyde. (See Hyde Line.) 

Ref.—New Eng. Hist. Rec., Vol. 2, p. 158. 

Sara Browne, daughter of Rev. Joseph Browne and his 
wife, Mary, married Arthur Penner,^ Gentleman. Their 
daughter, Sarah, married (1) John Tulley, (2) Robert Lay. 

Sara Fenner Tulley was a sister of John, Arthur, and 
William Fenner of Rhode Island town or Providence. They 
came early to America and Sara married Mr. Tulley. Just 
after his death she married Robert Lay, of Lyme, in December 
of 1647. They had two children; 

PHEBE, b. Jan. 5, 1651; m. JOHN B. DENISON, 1667. 

Robert, b. March 6. 1654; m. Mary Stanton, 1680. 

Sara (Fenner Tulley) Lay died May 21, 1676, age 59. Her 
husband, Robert Lay, died July 9, 1689, age 72 years. 

Their daughter, PHEBE, born Jan. 5, 1651, married in 
1667 to John B. Denison of Stonington, Conn., died 1699; son 
of Capt. Geo. Denison and Ann Borodell Denison. (See Deni¬ 
son Line.) 



98 


ELDER WILLIAM BREWSTER LINE 


Elder William Brewster Line—Mayflower Society. 

Elder William Brewster was from Scrooby, England. He 
attended Cambridge University and became Secretary of State 
to Wm. Davisson who was Secretary of State to Queen Eliza¬ 
beth. William Brewster resided at the house of a man who 
entertained Cardinal Woolsey, who made his last stop there 
before returning to Henry VIII. 

Elder Brewster was born in 1566, at Scrooby, England, 
and died at Plj^mouth, Mass., April 10, 1644, His wife, Mary, 
came with him to America in 1620. He was the person who 
wrote the Compact, Nov. 21, 1620, in the cabin of the May¬ 
flower, which was signed by all the passengers. Wm. Brewster 
was the founder of the Congregational church in America. 
They brought their family with them on the Mayflower, except 
Jonathan, the eldest son, who remained in England to settle 
the estate. Children: 

Jonathan, b. Aug. 12, 1693, at Scrooby, England, came in 
the “Fortune” in 1621. 

Love. 

Wrestling; died young. 

Elder’s wife, Mary, died at Plymouth, April 17, 1627. 

Patience, d. 1634; m. Samuel Spence. 

Pear, d. 1634; m. Isaac Allerton. 

(History of New London by Miss Frances Caulkins, p. 
276-7.) 



BREWSTER LINE 


99 


Brewster Line—Mayflower 1620. 

Jonathan Brewster, eldest son of Elder William and Mary 
Brewster of Scrooby, England, was born Aug. 12, 1593; mar¬ 
ried Lucretia Oldham, March 10, 1624. She was born in Eng¬ 
land and died in New London, Conn., April 4, 1678-9. Jonathan 
died in 1661. No probate papers relating to his estate have 
been found, but bills of sale are recorded, dated in 1658, con¬ 
veying all his property in the town lot and his house and land 
at Poquetanneck with his movable cattle and swine, to-wit: 
4 oxen, 12 cows, 8 yearlings, and 20 swine to his son, Benjamin 
Brewster, and his son-in-law, John Picket. 

Feb. 14, 1661-2, Mr. Picket relinquished his interest in the 
assignment to his brother-in-law, stipulating only “that my 
mother-in-law, Mrs. Brewster, the late wife of father-in-law 
Jonathan Brewster, shall have full and complete means out of 
his estate during her life, from the said Benjamin Brewster 
at her own dispose, freely and fully to command at her own 
pleasure.” 

The same trustees, Brewster and Picket, also conveyed 
certain lands to their sisters, Grace and Hannah, but in the 
settlement of the estate no allusion is made to other children. 

Mrs. Lucretia Brewster, the wife of Jonathan Brewster, 
was evidently a woman of note and respectability. 

Among her compeers she has always the prefix of honor 
“Mrs.” or “Mistress,” and is usually presented to view in 
some useful capacity; and attendant upon the sick and dying 
as nurse, doctor and midwife, or as witness to wills and other 
important transactions. 

Jonathan came over in the Fortune, which arrived Nov. 
JO, 1621. Jonathan Brewster settled first in Duxbury and w^s 
several times Representative from that place. Subsequently 
he engaged in the coasting trade and was master and probable 




100 


BREWSTER LINE 


owner of a small vessel, plying from Plymouth along the 
coast to Virginia. 

In this way he became acquainted with Pequot Harbor 
and entered the river to trade with the natives. In the spring 
of 1649 we find him overwhelmed with pecuniaiy disasters. 
Mr. Williams of Providence gives this notice of his misfortunes 
to Mr. Winthrop: “Sir.” “Though Mr. Brewster w^rite me 
not a word of it yet in private, I am told to tell you, that I 
hear it hath pleased God to afflict him in the thorns of this 
life.” 

“He intended for Virginia. His creditors in the Bay came 
to Portsmouth and unhung his rudder, carried him to the Bay 
where he was forced to make over house land and cattle and 
part with all his chest. Oh, how sweet is a dry morsel and an 
handful with quietness from Barth and Heaven.” 

Ref.—^Shurtliff List in Hist, and Gene. Reg., Vol. 1, p. 

362. 

Hist, of Col. Mass., Vol. 9, p. 281. 

At the time of this misfortune, Mr. Jonathan Brewster 
was purposing a change of residence, and probablj^ removed 
to Mr. Winthrop’s plantation as soon as he could arrange his 
affairs with his creditors. He was clerk of the town in Pequot 
in Sept., 1649. Part of his family came with him but several 
children remained behind. He had two sons, William and 
Jonathan, on the Military roll in Duxbury, 1643, the latter only 
16 years of age. William was in the Narragansett War of 
1645, after which his name is not found on the Colony Records. 
Jonathan disappears from Duxbury about 1649 and it may be 
assumed that these two sons died without issue. Two daugh¬ 
ters are traced in the old Colony: Lucretia, mentioned at the 
early date of 1627, and Mary, who married John Turner of 
Scituate, Conn. 

At New London we find one son and four daughters: 

Benjamin, married in 1659 Ann Dart, and settled at 
Brewster Neck, on the farm of his father. 



BREWSTER-WETHBRELL LINE 


10.1 


Elizabeth, married (1) Peter Bradley, (2) Christopher. 
She was 42 in 1680. 

Ruth, married John Picket in 1652. 

GRACE, married Aug. 4, 1659, Daniel Wetherell of New 
London. 

Hannah, married Dec. 25, 1664, Samuel Starr. She 
was 37 in 1680. 

GRACE BREAVSTER, daughter of Jonathan and Lucrctia 
Oldham Brewster, was born Nov. 1, 1639; married Aug. 4,1659, 
Daniel Wetherell, son of Rev. William Wetherell. Daniel 
Wetherell was born in Maidstone, England, in 1630 ; died April 
4, 1719. 

Children of Grace Brewster Wetherell and Judge Daniel 
W etherell: 

Hannah, b. March 21, 1659-60 ; m. Adam Picket. 

MARY, b. Oct. 7, 1668; m. (1) Thomas Harris, (2) George 
Denison. 

Daniel, b. Jan.^ 26, 1670. 

Samuel, bap. Oct. 19, 1679. 

The two sons of Judge Wetherell died young. The daugh¬ 
ters married and settled at New London, Conn. 

MARY, born Oct. 7, 1668, daughter of Judge Daniel 
Wetherell and GRACE BREWSTER Wetherell, married (1) 
Thomas Harris, (2) GEORGE DENISON, of New London, and 
they had several children. George Denison was a son of John 
B. Denison and Phebe Lay Denison. He was born March 28, 
1671, graduated from Harvard College, and was a man of im¬ 
portance in the colony. (8 children.) Their daughter, SARA, 
born June 20, 1710, died May 12, 1796; married at New Lon¬ 
don, WILLIAM DOUGLAS, March 4, 1730. He was born Jan. 
1, 1708; died Nov. 27, 1787. (See Douglas Line.) 




102 


WASHINGTON LINE 


Washingfton Line. 

John^ Washington; m.- 

Robert^ Washington; m. - 

John® Washington; m. Margret Hetson. 

Lawrence^ Washington; m. Ann Pargiter. 

Robert® Washington; m. Elizabeth Light. 

Walter® Washington, m. Alice Morton. 

Lawrence® Washington; m. Margeret Bulter. 

Catherine^ Washington; m. THOMAS STANTON. 

Lawrence^ Washington; m.- 

Thomas® Stanton; m. Ann Lord. 

Lawrence® Washington; m. Margaret Butter; d. Dec. 13, 
1616. 

Lawrence^ Washington; m. Amphillis, Mrs. Roades, d. 
Jan. 19, 1654. 

John® Washington; m. Ann Pope, b. 1633. 

Lawrence^ Washington; m. Mildred Warner; d. 1697. 

Augustine^® Washington; m. (2) Marv Ball; b. 1694, d. 
April 12, 1743. 

George^^ Washington; m. Martha Danbridge Curtis, b Feb. 
22. 1732; d. Dec. 14, 1799. 






STANTON 


103 


Stanton. 

NOTE. Thomas Stanton, from the Chesbourgh Genealogy, 
p. 585 ; 

Thomas Stanton de Loughbridge, County of Warwick, 
whose son, John,^ married Elizabeth, filia Townsend de Wallis. 
Their son, Thomas,^ second filius de Woolverton, married 
Maria, sonoria George Pudsey, in Laugly, County Warwick. 
Thomas^ filius et haeres, baptized 1619, aged 24, married 
Katherine Washington, July 30, 1616, filia Walter Washington 
de Radway, in County Warwick, England. 

Their son, Thomas Stanton,^ born 1619 in England, sailed 
for V^irginia in America on the ship Bonaventure in 1635. He 
married Ann Lord. 

Ref.—Washington Genealogy. 

Ref.—Water’s Gleanings. 



104 


DENISON-STANTON LINE 


Denisoii-Stanton Line. 

Prom the “New England Historical and Genealogical 
Register’’ Vol. II, p. 113, it is learned that on Jan. 2, 1634, 
Thomas Stanton took passage for Virginia in the merchant¬ 
man, “ Bonaventure, ” and that he recorded himself as being 
20 years old. There is no evidence that this Thomas Stanton 
was in any way related to the Robert Stanton family, from 
whom Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln’s great War Secretary, was 
a direct descendent. 

Thomas Stanton did not long remain in Virginia. In 
1636 he is on record in Boston, Mass., as a magistrate. He next 
appears in connection with the Pequot War. 

Caulkins, the historian, says: ' ‘ The services of Mr. Stan¬ 
ton as an interpreter during the Pequot War were invaluable.” 

In De Forest’s “History of Connecticut Indians” he says: 
“Some time in April, 1637, a small vessel arrived at the fort 
of Saybrook (then commanded by Gen. Lion Gardiner), having 
on board Thomas Stanton, a man well acquainted with the 
Indian language, and long useful to the colonial authorities as 
interpreter. ’ ’ 

He came from Virginia. He was the son of Thos. Stanton 
and Catherine Washington and second cousin of Geo. Wash¬ 
ington. 

He was one of the magistrates in the trial of John Wheel¬ 
wright of Boston, Oct. 3, 1637. He now married, and in Peb., 
1639, is numbered among the one hundred and twenty-seven 
property holders of Hartford, Conn., with his father-in-law. 
Dr. Thomas Lord, who held the first medical license granted in 
the New England Colonies. 

Dr. Lord came to America with his wife, Dorothy Bulk- 
ley, of England, April 29, 1635, in the ship “Elizabeth and 
Ann. ’ ’ 

From this time Thomas Stanton is of frequent mention in 
the records as Stanton, Staunton, and Steynton. 




STANTON LINE 


105 


The name is compounded of two Anglo-Saxon words, 
“Stan” and “ton,” meaning Ston town or Stanton. 

His name appears on all Indian deeds and transactions of 
that period between 1636-1670. 

He was required to be present whenever a court confer¬ 
ence was to be held or a treaty made. 

In 1649 he had permission to erect a trading house on the 
Pawtucket near Stonington, with six acres of ground, and a 
monopoly of trade on the river for three years. He probably 
went to Pequot in 1651 and took up his residence in Stoning¬ 
ton in 1658. In March, 1652, he was granted three hundred 
acres laid out in a square upon the river, next to his former 
grant of six acres. In 1659 Chief Cassanashitt deeded to him 
the whole of Pawtucket Neck, and the small island that lay 
near it, known as the “Hommocks.” This grant was con¬ 
firmed by the court in 1671. He removed his residence in 1658 
to Wequetequock Cove, two and one-half miles from Stoning¬ 
ton. He was the third settler there, this territory then belong¬ 
ing to the Massachusetts plantation and was called Southing¬ 
ton (Suffolk County, Mass). In 1662 Charles II gave Con¬ 
necticut a new charter that included Southington. In 1665 the 
name was changed to Mystic, and in 1667 the final change was 
made to Stonington. 

In 1665 Thomas Stanton was commissioner with authority 
to hold a semi-annual court at New London, the county seat. 

In Sept., 1666, the first court ever held in the county was 
assembled. The judges were: Major Mason, Thomas Stanton, 
and Lieut. Pratt. Thomas Stanton was Interpreter General 
for the New England Colonies. 

He was now continually in public office. The last honor to 
come to him was in 1666 when he was elected a member of the 
General Assembly of Connecticut, to which he was reelected 
each year until, his death in 1677. He was a member of the 
First Congregational church of Stonington, Conn. 

In early life he was in England designed and educated 
for a cadet, but not liking the profession of arms and taking a 



t06 


STANTON LINE 


deep interest in the religious principles of the immigrating 
Puritans he left his native land and came to America in 1635. 
On arriving some time later at Boston, he was recognized by 
Winthrop as a valuable man. He later went with Mr. Fenwick 
and Hugh Peters as their interpreter on the Mission to Say- 
brook, Conn. 

Thomas Stanton married in 1637 Ann Lord, daughter of 
Dr. Thomas Lord and Dorothy (Bulkley) Lord, his wife, of 
Hartford, Conn. Thomas Stanton died Dec. 2, 1677, aged 68 
years. His widow, Ann, died in 1688. Their children are: 

Thomas, b. 1638; ra. Sara Denison. 

John, b. 1641; ra. Hannah Thompson. 

Mary, b. 1643; m. Samuel Rogers. 

Hannah, b.-; m. Nehemiah Palmer. 

Joseph, b. 1646; m. (1) Hannah Mead, (2) Hannah Lord. 

Damie, b. 1648; m. 

Dorothy, b. 1651; m. Rev. James Noyes. 

ROBERT, b. 1653; m. Joanna Gardiner. 

Sarah, b. 1655; m. (1) Thomas Prentice, (2) William 
Denison. 

Samuel, b. 1657; m. Borodell Denison. 

ROBERT STANTON, born 1653, died 1724; married 
Joanna Gardiner, born 1657, died Sept. 12, 1677. She was the 
daughter of Thomas and Lucy (Smith) Gardiner of Roxbury, 
Mass. Robert Stanton lived at Pawcatuck, Stonington, Conn., 
Died there Oct. 24, 1724. 

He was a soldier in King Philip’s War and was a man of 
importance and distinction in the Colony. The children of 
Robert and Joanna Stanton: 

JOANNA, b. June, 1677; ni. Robert Denison. 

Lucy, b. 1681; d. Sept., 1687. 

Anna, b. 1684; m. William Stanton. 

MARY, b. Feb., 1687; m. Daniel Denison. 

Thomas, b. 1693; m. Thankful Denison. 

Lucy, b. 1696; m. James McDowell. 

Gardiner, b. 1701; d. Feb., 1704. 




STANTON-DENISDN LINE 


107 


JOANNA STANTON, born June, 1677, married Robert 
Denison, son of John B. Denison and Phebe Lay Denison, born 
Sept. 17, 1673, and died in 1739. Joanna Stanton Denison, his 
wife, died in 1715. They were married in 1696 and lived at 
IVfinterville, Conn. 

Their son, Robert^ Denison, born March 21, 1697, married 

Oct. 19, 1721, Deborah Griswold, born 1697, died - ; 

daughter of Matthew Griswold and Phebe Hyde Griswold. 
Robert^ settled at Minterville, Conn., on his father’s land but 
later removed to No via Scotia and died at Horton, June 11, 
1766. 

Their daughter, Elizabeth Denison, born Sept. 10, 1726, 
married Nathan^ Smith. He was born in Groton, Conn., Sept. 
18, 1724, and died March 13, 1810. Elizabeth died Feb. 14, 
1813. Both are buried in the Smith Lake cemetery at Groton, 
Conn. (See Nehemiah Smith Line.) 

Their daughter, Phebe Smith, born Aug. 11, 1765, married 
Ivory Douglas in 1782 at Groton, Conn. He was born in, 1761 
at New London, Conn. They settled in Chelsea, Vt., in 1789. 
He was one of the first Deacons of the Congregational church 
in Chelsea. He died at New London while on a visit there in 
1825. (See Douglas Line.) 

MARY STANTON, daughter of Robert and Joanna 
Gardiner Stanton, was fourth child and born Peb. 3, 1687; mar¬ 
ried Jan. 1, 1703, Daniel Denison, son of John B. Denison 
and Phebe Lay Denison. Daniel was born March, 28, 1680, and 
died in 1747. Mary Stanton was the mother of eleven children 
and was married at the age of 16. Children of Mary and 
Daniel Denison ; 

MARY, b. Aug. 29, 1705; m. NATHAN SMITH. 

Daniel, b. Nov. 11, 1707; died young. 

Beebee, b. 1709; m. Sarah Avery. 

Rachel, b. 1710. 

Esther, b. 1712; m. Isaac Smith. ^ 




108 


DENISON-SMITH LINE 


Lucy, b. 1714; m. Jonas Prentice. 

John, b. 1716; m. Abagail Avery. 

Prudence, b. 1718; m. William Denison. 

Daniel, b. 1721; m. Esther Wheeler. 

Phebe, b. 1723; m. William Avery. 

Sarah, b. 1724;- 

MARY DENISON, born Aug. 29, 1705, marriel Nathan 
Smith in 1723. He was the son of Nehemiah Smith. (See 
Smith Line.) 




LORD FAMILY LINE 


109 


Lord Family Line. 

Ref.—Savage, Vol. 3, p. 116. 

Thomas Lord of Hartford came in the ship ‘ ‘ Elizabeth and 
Ann” in 1635 from London, age 50, with his wife, Dorothy, age 
46, daughter of Edward and Olive Irby Bulkley. Their chil¬ 
dren were: 

Richard, came to America in 1632. 

Thomas, age 16, when they came in 1635. 

ANN, age 14, b. 1621; m. Thomas Stanton. 

William, age 12. 

John, age 10. 

Robert, age 9. 

Annie, age 6. 

Dorothy, age 4. 

Their eldest son, Richard, had been sent over to America 
three years before their arrival. 

Thomas Lord stopped at Boston a year or more but was 
one of the original proprietors and among the first settlers of 
Hartford, Conn. The date of his death is unknown. His 
widow, Dorothy, died Aug. 2, 1676. In her will she mentions 
her daughter, Ann, the wife of Thomas Stanton. 

Dr. Lord was the first physician in Connecticut, 1635. Ann 
Lord married Thomas Stanton. She was born in 1621, died in 
1688. Pour children. (See Stanton Genealogy.) 



110 


BULKLEY-LORD GENEALOGY 


Bulkley-Lord Genealogy. 

Taken from Boston Transcript of April 16, 1913, answer¬ 
ing an inquiry of April 2, 1913, from M. G. H. S. 

The English Bulkley line has been traced to the late 
twelfth century, and the published chart verified and corrected 
by Burke, Lodge and Harlesan and additional manuscripts, 
wills, documents, commons, etc., as follows: 

Robertus, Lord Buclough of Buclough, was one of the 
Magna Charta Barons or Surities in the Reign of King John, 
the name derived from mountains in the county of Palatine of 
Chester, and applied to the first baronial estate. In the reign 
of Edward III it was spelled Bucclogh, later Bulkeley. 

Robertus left daughters, Emma, Letitia, Felicia and 
Lenka. His son and heir was William,^ whose wife’s name was 
unknown. He had six sons. The eldest died, leaving as heir 
a second son, Robert^, who married a daughter of Butler of 
Bewsey Warrington. Their children were one daugher and 
three sons, Peter^ William,^ Thomas.^ The second son, Wil¬ 
liam,'* married a sister of Sir John Davenport, and had five 
sons: William,® the heir; Robert,® who received the Manor 
of Cylan; and Roger,® who was given the Manor of Norbury, 
and he and his descendents adopted the name of Norbury. 
The Norbury’s of Virginia were of this line. Richard® had the 
Manor Presland and adopted this as a surname. Thomas® had 
the name of Alsman. 

Each of these five sons left descendents. The eldest son 
and heir of Robert^ was Peter* de Bulkeley, who married 
Nicola, daughter and heiress of Thomas Byrrd, through which 
marriage Alphaham lands came to the Bulkeley family. They 
had two sons; the younger, Robert,® married Margery, daugh¬ 
ter of John Byrrd; their heir, John® Bulkley of Haughton, mar- 



BULKLEY-LORD LINE 


111 


ried Arderene, daughter and heiress of John Filley of Woor 
Salop. John"^ died in 1450, leaving Hugh® of Woore, who mar¬ 
ried Helen, daughter of Thomas of Woore. They had 
three daughters and one son; Humphrey'^ of Woore mar¬ 
ried Grisell, daughter and heiress of John Moulton; their eldest 
son, Humphrey,® Jr., died without issue prior to his father’s 
death, leaving as heir the second son, William® of Oakley, who 
married Beatrice, daughter and heiress of William Hill of Bul- 
ansanle. Their eldest son, Thomas,^ of Woore Salop, married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Randall Grosvenor of Bellport. They 
had two sons, the younger, Rowland, leaving a son, William of 
Buntingdale, who left a son, William of Woodhill. The eldest 
son and heir of Thomas^^ was Edward^® Bulkley a Doctor of 
Divinitj^ of Odell, Berdfordshire, Prebend of Lichfield, who 
married Olive Irby of the house of Irby of Lincolnshire. They 
were parents of twelve daughters, including Dorothy, who 
married Thomas Lord, first doctor of Connecticut, N. E.; Eliza¬ 
beth married Abraham Mellows of Charlestown, Mass.; and a 
daughter who married St. John of England, whose son, Right 
Hon. Oliver St. Stephen, was Lord Ambassador Extraordinary 
to the Netherlands. 

Ref.—Irby Genealogy in Thompson’s History of Bos¬ 
ton Co., Lincoln p. 291-3. 

Harl. Visitation of Lincolnshire, Vol. II, p. 542. 

Stephen’s Diet, of Natl. Biography, Irby, Vol. VII, p. 235. 

Kev. Edward and Olive Irby Bulkeley were also parents 
of three sons: Nathaniel, a merchant, who died without is¬ 
sue; Paul, called David, who died without issue (a Fellow of 
College leaving the perpetuation of the name in this branch of 
the family to their second son Peter, born Jan. 31, 1583.) Peter 
Bulkeley was admitted a member of St. John’s College, Cam¬ 
bridge, of which he was later chosen a Fellow and from which 
he received the degree of B. P. He succeeded his father as 
rector in his native town of Odell, where for some years he 
enjoyed his rich benefice and estate. He married (1) Jane, 



112 


BULKLEY-LORD LINE 


daughter of Sir Thomas Allen of Goldington, by whom he had 
twelve children: 

Edward. 

Mary. 

Thomas. 

Nathaniel. 

John. 

Mary, again. 

George. 

Daniel. 

Jabez. 

Joseph. 

William. 

Richard. 

Rev. Peter was a non-conformist and met the fate of many 
others under the regime of Archbishop Laud. Being forbidden 
longer to preach he decided to sell his estate and emigrate to 
New England. His wife having died some seven years before, 
he married Grace, daughter of Sir Richard Chetwode, of an old 
and distinguished family, and in May, 1635, they embarked 
with his younger children, Edward having come to Massachu¬ 
setts the preceding year. Here were born four children of Rev. 
Peter: Grace, Rev. Gershom, Eleanor, Dorothy and Dr. Peter. 
There were ten descendents of Rev. Peter. 

Th most interesting part of the Bulkeley History follows, 
but judging that M. G. H. S. of Boston Transcript, correspond¬ 
ent, is interested only in the ancestry of Dorothy Bulkeley 
Lord, and realizing the story has outgrown limits in this publi¬ 
cation, I add but an item or two from the wealth of detail re¬ 
garding this distinguished family. 

Rev. Edward of England left writings of some nolo, 
among them being a supplement to Poxes’ “Acts and Monu¬ 
ments of the Martyrs,” and the bequest of Rev. Gershom to 
his son. Rev. John, includes the manuscript of my father, Rev. 
Peter, and grandfather. This line of Bulkeleys is one of the 





BULKLEY-LORD LINE 


113 


few emigrant families whose right as armigers is unquestioned. 
The arms are derived from the third of this line, Robert, about 
A. D. 1250, and described: ARMES: Argent a chevron be¬ 
tween three Bulls heads cabossed, sable motto “Nec Temere 
nec timide.” These arms were used by the first three genera¬ 
tions in America except that after his marriage with Grace 
('hetwode. Rev. Peter used the Bulkeley arms with the Chet- 
wode impaled, and this Coat of Armes was found in the house 
of his son. Rev. Gershom, in Wetherfield, Conn. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was of the Bulkeley blood, 
pays the following tribute to the first of the name in America: 
“Among the silenced clergymen was a distinguished minister 
of Odell in Bedfordshire, England, Rev. Peter Bulkeley, de¬ 
scended from a noble family, honored for his own virtues, his 
learning and gifts as a preacher and adding to his influence the 
weight of a large estate.’’ 

Signed “G. L. P.,” Correspondent. 

Ref.—Burke’s Commoners, Vol. I, p. 654, 

Burke’s Extinct Baronetage, p. 462. 



114 


SMITH-BOURNE LINE 


Smith-Bourne Line. 

Ref.—N. E. Reg., 1873, Vol. 27, N. E. 

THOMAS BOURNE, born 1581, and his wife, Elizabeth, 
born 1590, came from County Kent, England, with their chil¬ 
dren and settled at Marshfield, Conn., as early as 1637. He 
was made freeman of that colony Jan. 2. 1638. 

He buried his wife, Elizabeth, July 18, 1660, age 70 years. 
He was a man of means and a man of good repute, and died 
in 1664 at the age of 83, leaving a widow, Martha. The chil¬ 
dren were all by his first wife, Elizabeth. Thomas Bourne rep¬ 
resented Marshfield in the Colonial government in 1642. 
Among his descendents are many of the first men and women 
of America. 

In 1834 eleven Bourne men had graduated from Harvard. 

The children: John, Martha, Ann and Margret. 

ANN, born Jan. 18, 1615, married Rev. Nehemiah Smith 
Jan. 21, 1639; died Jan. 12, 1684. Both are buried at Norwich, 
Conn. 

Martha Bourne, sister of Ann, married John Bradford, 
son of Gov, Bradford. 

Margret married John Winthrop, son of Gov. Winthrop. 




SMITH-WINCHESTER LINE 


H5 


Smith-Winchester Line. 

Ref.—Savage 4. 

Com. Court Proceedings. 

Alexander Winchester died July 16, 1647. His will was 
found in Vol. 4, p. 283, N. E. Reg., Roxbury, Mass. It was 
dated June 4, 1647, and proved at court June 8, 1648. He 
willed one-half to his wife, and the other half to the children, 
all of whom were under age. John Hazel, Walter Palmer and 
Wm. Chesborough were supervisors. Alexander Winchester 
came from Rehoboch to Roxbury, Mass. Children: 

LYDIA, b. Oct. 29, 1670; m. Nehemiah Smith^. 

Nehemiah, b. Nov. 14, 1673. 

Samuel, b. June 2, 1676. 

Martha, b. Oct. 15, 1678. 

Daniel, b. Oct. 29, 1680. 

Margret, b. 1683. 

LYDIA WINCHESTER, born Oct. 29, 1670, married Ne¬ 
hemiah Smith Oct. 24, 1669, of New London, Conn. 

Lydia died 1725. 

Nehemiah died 1727. 



116 


PARKE GENEALOGY 


Paxke Genealogy. 

Ref.—Caulkin’s History of New London. 

Parke Family, (Conn.); Savage Gen. Diet.; Chaplain Gene. 

Sir Robert Parke married (1) Martha Chaplain, daughter 
of William and Agnes Chaplain, (2) Widow Alice Thompson. 
He was an old man or was called an aged man in 1662. His 
Will is on the town book, dated May 14,1660. It was proved in 
March 1664-5. He was born in England in 1580. 

Robert Parke names only three children, William, Samuel 
and Thomas. Of the second son, Samuel, we have no informa¬ 
tion except what may be inferred from the clause relating to 
him in the Will. The oldest son. Deacon William Parke of Rox- 
bury, executor of the Will, is directed to pay to Samuel £50. 

Mr. Parke was of Wethersfield in 1640 and made freeman 
of the colony in April of that year. He was deputy to the 
General Court in Sept. 1642, but removed to Pequot in 1649, 
and was a resident in the town plot about six years and then 
established himself on the banks of the Mystic River. 

Thomas Parke^, born in Preston, England, 1609; 1608, 
deacon; died 1698; son of Robert Parke'; was also of Wether- 
field, and had two children born there. 

MARTHA PARKE^, daughter of Thomas Parke-, was born 
in 1646. 

Martha Parke married Isaac Wheeler (Col. Rec., Vol. 1, 
Wheeler History). Their son, Thomas, w^as born in 1648 and 
married Dorothy Thompson, daughter of John and Alice 
Thompson of Preston, England. Dorothy Thompson, wife of 
John Parke,^ was the sister of Mrs. Blinman. 

Thomas Parke,^ after residing a number of years at Mystic, 
within the bounds of Stonington, removed wdth his son. 




PARKE GENEALOGY 


117 


Thomas Parke, Jr., to lands belonging to them in the northern 
part of New London, and in 1680 they were both reckoned as 
inhabitants of the latter place. 

They were afterwards included in Preston, and Thomas 
Parke, Sr., was the first deacon of Mr. Treat’s church, organ¬ 
ized in that town in 1698. He died July 30, 1709. 

Besides the children before mentioned Thomas Parke, Sr., 
had four sons: Robert, Nathaniel, William and John; and 
daughters, Alice and Dorothy, of whom no dates of birth have 
been found. 

Alice Parke became the wife of Greenfield Larrabee (2nd 
of name), and Dorothy the wife of Joseph Morgan. (See Ne- 
hemiah Smith Record.) 



118 


WHEELER-SMITH LINE 


Wheeler-Smith Line. 

Ref.—History of Wheeler family in America, p. 289. 

Thomas Wheeler, ancestor of the Wheeler family of Ston- 
ington, Conn., was doubtless born in England. The first 
knowledge of him in this country is at Lynn, Mass., 1635, 
where he was elected constable and held other official positions 
later on. 

In 1642 he was made freeman of Lynn, purchasing large 
tracts of land there, including a mill site, upon which he built 
and operated a mill. He married at Lynn, Mass., Mary, a 
young lady of his acquaintance, whose family name is not 
known now but tradition presents her as having a pleasing 
and attractive personality. She graced the home of her hus¬ 
band with cheerful loveliness, filling his home with light and 
love. Thomas and Mary, his wife, were married in 1645, and 
were parents of three children. In 1667 he sold his real estate 
in Lynn, Mass., and moved to Stonington, Conn. He was the 
intimate of Rev. James Noyes, who came to Stonington the 
same year that Thomas Wheeler did. Thomas Wheeler was 
made freeman of the Connecticut Colony in 1669, and was 
elected one of the Representatives to the General Court from 
Stonington in 1673. 

The following year his name appears among the immortal 
nine who organized the First Congregational church of Ston¬ 
ington June 3, 1674. 

His wife, Mary Wheeler, was one of the partakers with 
the church in its first communion service. Soon after Thomas 
Wheeler came to Stonington to live, he and his son Isaac built 
them a residence in North Stonington, where Col. F. Brown now 
resides, where they lived and died. Thomas and Mary were 
buried in Whitehall cemetery, on the bank of the Mystic river. 



WHEELER-SMITH LINE 


119 


He died March 6. 1686, at 84 years. He was born in 1602. 
Children of Thomas and Mary: 

ISAAC, b. 1646; d. 1712. 

Elizabeth, b. 1648; d. 1672. 

Sara, b. 1650; d. 1687. 

ISAAC WHEELER, eldest son of Thomas and Mary 
Wheeler, born in 1646, died at Stonington, Conn., June 5, 1712. 
He married Jan. 10, 1667, Martha Park, who was born in 1646 
and died Feb. 14, 1717. She was the daughter of Thomas 
Parke and Dorothy Thompson Parke of Stonington. Isaac 
served in the Colonial Wars and was Deputy from Stonington 
1669-1692. He was made a freeman from Fairfax County, May, 
1670. He convoyed to Committee for the use of the Indians 
280 acres of land in North Stonington. 

(Concerning 1689-1706 see Col. Wars, Vol. I, p. 128.) 

Children of Isaac and Martha were: 

Mary, b. Nov. 22, 1699. 

Martha, b. Feb. 6, 1670. 

Thomas, b. Dec. 1, 1671; killed by the Indians at Louis- 
berg. 

Isaac, b. Aug. 6, 1673. 

Ann, b. Aug. 20, 1675. 

Richard, b. March 19, 1677. 

DOROTHY, b. Dec. 6, 1679, d. May 25, 1736; m. April 22, 
1696, Nehemiah^ Smith. 

William, b. Sept. 9, 1681. 

Elizabeth, b. May 22, 1683. 

Experience, b. May 21, 1685. 

(See Smith Line.) 



120 


NEHEMIAH SMITH LINE 


Nehemiah Smith Line. 

Ref.—New Eng. Hist. Reg., Conn. Gene. 

The family bearing this name is one of the oldest in New’ 
London, Conn., and has given to the state many good and 
honorable citizens, who have played well their parts in public 
and municipal, as well as in private life. 

One of the original proprietors of the town was REV. 
NEHEMIAH SMITH, born in England in 1605. He married 
ANN BOURNE, Jan. 21, 1689, at Marshfield, Mass. He came 
from New Castle, Stafford, England, and w^as made freeman 
of Plymouth, Mass., March 6, 1637. He died in 1686 in Nor¬ 
wich, Conn. 

Ann, his wife, w’as born Jan. 18, 1615, died Jan. 12, 1684. 
She was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Bourne. Her 
sister, Martha, married John Bradford, son of Gov. Bradford 
of Massachusetts. Their children: 

Sarah, bap. Dec. 14, 1645. 

Mary, bap. Dec. 14, 1645; m. Samuel Raymond. 

Hannah, bap. Dec. 14, 1645. 

NEHEMIAH, bap. Oct. 24, 1646; m. Lydia Winchester; 
d. Aug. 8, 1727. 

Mercy, bap. Feb. 22, 1647. 

Lydia, bap. Feb. 22, 1647. 

Elizabeth, bap. Feb. 22, 1647; m. Joshua Raymond. 

Ann, bap. Feb. 22, 1647; m. Thomas Bradford. 

Mehitable. 

Experience; m. Joshua Abel. 

NEHEMIATP SMITH married LYDIA WINCHESTER 
Oct. 24, 1669. She was the daughter of Alexander Winchester, 
Roxbury, Mass. Nehemiah bought a large tract of land at 
Niantic, Conn., in 1691 or 1692 of Joseph and Jonathan Bree 
of Hartford, Conn., north of Blackpoint. In 1694 he is called 
Sergeant in the town records. 



NEHEMIAH SMITH LINE 


121 


The same year he was put on the Building Committee to 
take charge of erecting a church. In 1697 he was ensign of 
the Military Company. In 1706 he was made Lieutenant and 
was also member of the General Committee, Selectman, and 
served on various committees to settle boundaries and other 
disputes. 

He was Deputy to the Connecticut General Court in 1690- 
91-94-98-1705; Deputy from Groton, Conn., 1706-07-18-21-24; 
member of Governor’s Council, 1703-05-11-15-24. In 1715 he 
was appointed Overseer of Indians at Niantic and was in As¬ 
sembly 1707-1716 and Town Clerk, 1707-08. Nehemiah^ Smith 
lived to be 81 years old. His widow, Lydia, died Oct. 24, 1723, 
at 88 years. 

He died Aug. 8, 1727, at Groton, Conn. Their children: 

Lydia, b. Oct. 29, 1670. 

NEHEMIAH, b. Nov. 14, 1673; m. Dorothy Wheeler. 

Samuel, b. Jan. 2, 1676. 

Martha, b. Oct. 15, 1678. 

Daniel, b. Nov. 29, 1680. 

Margret, b. 1683. 

Joseph, b. Nov. 7, 1686. 

NEHEMIAH‘^ SMITH, born Nov. 14, 1673, married April 
22, 1696, Dorothy Wheeler, daughter of Isaac and Martha 
Parke Wheeler, granddaughter of Thomas and Mary Wheeler. 
Both Nehemiah and wife, Dorothy, joined the church in 1712. 
Dorothy was born Dec. 6, 1679, at New London, Conn. She 
died May 27, 1736. They lived and died on the old homestead 
where he was born at Smith Lake, Groton, Conn., and where 
he died Nov. 21, 1724. Their children: 

Dorothy, b. Aug. 26, 1697. 

Hannah, b. Feb. 20, 1699. 

Elizabeth, b. Nov. 17, 1700. 

NATHAN, b. Sept. 16, 1702; m. MARY DENISON. 

John, b. June 14, 1704. 

William, b. May 10, 1706. , 



122 


NEHEMIAH SMITH LINE 


Isaac, b. Dec. 10. 1709. 

Lydia, b. Jan. 24, 1712. 

Jabez, b. Feb. 7, 1714. 

Anna, b. Nov. 1, 1717. 

Sarah, b. July 14, 1719. 

NATHAN SMITH, born at Groton, Conn., Sept. 16, 1702, 
married at Stonington, Conn., Dec. 25, 1723, to Mary Denison, 
born Aug. 29, 1705. She was the daughter of Daniel and Mary 
Stanton Denison. Her father, Daniel Denison, was the brother 
of George Denison, who married Mary Wether ell Harris of 
Brewster line and brother of Robert Denison, who married 
Johanna Stanton. (All our ancestors.) Nathan Smith died 
Dec. 4, 1784. Mary, his wife, was born Aug. 29, 1705, and died 
at Groton, Conn., Feb. 20, 1793. Children. 

NATHAN, b. Sept. 18, 1724. 

Mary. 

Dorothy. 

Jane. 

Eliza. 

Oliver. 

Gilbert. 

NATHAN^ SMITH, born Sept. 18, 1724, at Groton, Coni)., 
married Elizabeth Denison at Groton, Conn., in 1744. Eliza¬ 
beth was the daughter of Robert and Deborah Griswold Deni¬ 
son. She was born Sept. 10, 1726. Nathan Smith was ap¬ 
pointed on a Committee of Inspection during the Revolutionary 
War. He served on that committee from Dec. 30, 1777, to the 
close of the war. This recommendation came from His Ex¬ 
cellency the Governor of Connecticut at the Groton Town Meet¬ 
ing, State of Connecticut, Civil Service Dept. 

Nathan^ died at Washington, Mass., March 13, 1810, and 
his wife, Elizabeth, died Feb. 14, 1813. Both are buried in the 
Smith Lake cemetery, Groton, Conn. 

Ref.—Douglas Book, Groton, Conn,; Groton Records, 

Vol. I, p. 175. 



NEHEMIAH SMITH LINE 


123 


Children: 

Col. Oliver. 

PHEBE, b. Aug. 11, 1765; d. 1853. 

Hannah. 

Jabez. 

Nathan; d. 1851. 

PHEBE SMITH, b. Aug. 11,1765, married in 1782 to Ivory 
Douglas and settled in Chelsea, Vt., 1759. Ivory Douglas was 
the son of William Douglas and Mary Lucas Douglas. He was 
bom in New London, 1761, and died at New London while 
bathing in the river, when on a visit to his old home in 1825. 
His widow, Phebe Smith, died in 1835. Both Wills are on 
record at Chelsea, Vt. 

Their daughter, Charlotte Douglas, bom at Chelsea, Vt., in 
1791, married Jared C. Smith, Nov. 11, 1811, at Louisville, N. 
Y. He was the son of Abram and Sara Crane Smith, and was 
born at Bolton, now Richmond, Vt., 1786. He died at Williams- 
ville, Canada, West, April 10,1843. Charlotte, his widow, died 
at Florence, Neb., June 6, 1878. 



124 


GARDINER LINE 


Grardiner line. 

Thomas Gardiner of Roxbury, bom in England, died Nov. 
10, 1638, at Roxbury, Mass. The Town Record states, “Our 
aged sister G. was buried Oct. 7, 1658, ’ ’ referring to the widow 
of Thomas Gardiner. Her name was not given in the record. 
Children: 

THOMAS, b. E. Roxbury, d. July 15, 1689; m, July 4, 1641, 
to Lucy Smith. He was made freeman in 1646. 

Peter, b. England, embarked on the “Elizabeth.’^ He was 
at New London, April, 1635, settled at Roxbury, and 
married Rebecca Cooke, May 9, 1636. 

Lucy Smith Gardiner died Nov. 4, 1687. 

THOMAS, born England, settled at Roxbury with his 
wife, Lucy Smith, and had these children: 

Isaac, b. March 5, 1642. 

Audrey, b. in Roxbury. 

Thomas, died young. 

Abigail, bap. Feb. 16, 1646; died young. 

Mary, b. April 9, 1648. 

Peter, b. Dec. 8, 1650. 

Abigail, b. Dec. 6, 1652. 

Lucy, b. Feb. 11, 1653. 

JOANNA, b. Jan. 25, 1657; m. Robert Stanton, Sopt. 12, 
1677. 

Joshua, b. May 8, 1659. 

Caleb, b. April 13, 1662. 

The home of THOMAS^ and LUCY S. GARDINER, his 
wife, was at Muddy River (now Brookline), 1646. 

JOANNA GARDINER, b, Jan. 25, 1657, married ROBERT 
STANTON of Stonington, Conn., Sept. 12, 1677. He was born 
at Stonington in 1653; died Oct. 24, 1724. Their children: 

JOANNA STANTON, b. June 5, 1677; m. Robert Denison. 

Lucy, b. 1681; died Sept, 1687. 



STANTON-DENISON LINE 


125 


Anna, b. 1684; m. William Stanton. 

MARY, b. Feb. 3, 1687; m. Daniel Denison. 

Robert, b. 1689; m. Katherine Simpkins. 

Thomas, b. 1693; m. Thankful Denison. 

Lucy, b. 1696; m. James McDowell. 

Gardiner, b. 1701; died Peb., 1704. 

JOANNA STANTON, born June 5, 1677, married in 1696 
Robert Denison, baptized Sept. 17, 1673. They settled in Min- 
terville on 500 acres of land conveyed to him by Owanea, Sach¬ 
em of the Mohegan Indianc, Jan., 1709. Robert Denison was 
the son of John B. Denison and Phebe Lay Denison of Stoning- 
ton, Conn. Robert Denison married (2) Dorothy Stanton. He 
was her fourth husband. She died at 105 years. Joanna 
Denison, his first wife, died in 1715. Robert died in 1735. 

Robert and Joanna had ROBERT^ DENISON, baptized 
March 21, 1697, married Oct. 19, 1721, to DEBORAH GRIS¬ 
WOLD, 1697. She was the daughter of Matthew and Phebe 
Hyde GRISWOLD of Lyme, Conn., at “Black Hall,’’ owned by 
the Griswold family for generations. ROBERT DENISON 
settled at Minterville, Conn., and later moved west. He was in 
General Wolcott’s brigade at the taking of Louisburg, promot¬ 
ed to the rank of Major and Coloned, died June 11, 1766, at 
Horton, Nova Scotia. His wife, Deborah, died in 1732, and he 
married (2) Prudence Sherman. Children of his first wife, De¬ 
borah Griswold Denison: 

Deborah, b. Dec., 1722; m. Christopher Mannering. 

Elizabeth, b. 1723; died in infancy. 

Robert, b. March, 1724; died May, 1724. 

ELIZABETH, b. Sept. 10, 1726; m. Nathan Smith. 

Andrew, b. 1728; m. Mary Thompson. 

Mary, b. 1730; died 1743. 

Robert, b. 1732; died 1732. 

Daniel, b. 1727; died 1727. 

ELIZABETH DENISON, b. Sept. 10, 1726, married Nathan 
Smith, born Sept. 18, 1724, at Groton, Conn., son of Nathan 



126 


DENISON-DOUCLAS LINE 


and Mary Denison Smith of Stonington, Conn. Elizabeth 
died Feb. 14, 1813. Nathan died at Washington, Mass., March 
13, 1810. Both are buried in Smith Lake cemetery, Groton, 
Conn. Their daughter, Phebe Smith, was born Aug. 11, 1765, 
and married Ivory Douglas and settled at Chelsea, Vt., 1789. 

Ref.—Denison Gene. 

IVORY DOUGLAS, son of William and Mary Lucas Doug¬ 
las of New London, Conn., was born at New London, Conn., in 
1761. He was one-of the first Deacons of the Congregational 
church and was Selectman of Chelsea, 1791-96. His Will is 
recorded in the Chelsea Records of 1825. He died while on 
a visit to New London, his old home, in 1825. Phebe Smith 
Douglas, his widow, died in 1853. They had 14 children. One 
was Charlotte. 

CHARLOTTE, born in Chelsea in 1791, married Jared C. 
Smith at Louisburg, N. Y., Nov. 15, 1811. He enlisted in the 
Army of 1812 in Capt. Willard’s Co., N. Y. Militia, 1st Reg.. 
N. Y. He died at Williamsville, Canada, West, April 10, 1843. 
He was born at Bolton (now Richmond), Vt., 1786. Charlotte 
Douglas Smith, his widow, removed to Florence, Neb., to the 
home of her eldest son, John Keysar Smith, and died there at 
‘‘Valle}^ Rest,” June 6, 1878. 

Their son, JOHN KEYSAR SMITH, born in St. Lawrence 
County, N. Y., in 1818, married Mary Ann Sliearer, June 11, 
1848, at Rockport, Ill. They moved to Nebraska in 1859 and 
settled on a homestead at Florence, Neb. He died May 5, 
1875. His wife, born in Pennsylvania, March 12, 1825, died 
May 1, 1893. 



WOLCOTT LINE 


127 


Wolcott Line 

Ref.—^^Savage, Conn. Gene. 

Henry Wolcott, Sr., born in Somersetshire, England, Dec. 
6, 1578, first came to America in 1628 and returned to England. 
He later appeared at Windsor, Conn., and was a member of 
the General Court from Windsor and one of the principal men 
in the first settlement of the Colony in 1643. He was chosen 
magistrate and continued in that same office until his death, 
May 30, 1655. He married Elizabeth Saunders, Jan. 19, 1606. 
She was the daughter of Thomas Saunders, and died July 7, 
1655. Children: 

Henry, b. 1610. 

Christopher, b. - 

ANN, b. 1620; m. Oct. 16, 1646, Matthew Griswold. 

Simon, b. - 

Mary, b. -; m. John Drake, June 25, 1646. 

ANN WOLCOTT, born 1620, married Oct. 16, 1646, to 
Matthew Griswold^ of Lyme, Conn. He was the younger 
brother of Edward and Francis Griswold of Windsor and 
Cambridge, who landed May 30, 1630. 

Edward, married Widow Sarah Bevins. 

Francis, married Mary Tracy, daughter of Lieut. Thomas 
Tracy. 






128 


GRISWOLD GENEALOGY 


Griswold Genealogy 

Ref.—Stite’s History of Ancient Windsor; Nashe’s 

Fifty Puritan Families; Conn. Genealogy. 

Early in the days of Colonial development of New Eng¬ 
land, there came from Warwickshire, England, four young 
men by the name of Griswold. They came early to Connecticut 
and cast their fortunes with those sturdy, fearless, religious 
men who settled the wilderness and the rock-bound shore of 
that state. 

Wherever their names are found, wi‘ find they were of 
service to the Colony and became men of distinction and im¬ 
portance in the establishment and development of the various 
towns in which they settled, usually prominent in the plotting 
of the town and giving to it some name they had learned to 
love in England. 

The father of these men was Edward Griswold of War¬ 
wickshire, England. The men were named : 

MATTHEW, b. about 1597. 

Edward, b. 1607. 

Thomas. 

FRANCIS. 

Matthew Griswold, said to be the oldest of the brothers, 
was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, about 1597. 
He early arrived at Windsor, Conn., in 1680, and married at 
Windsor, Oct. 16, 1646, Ann Wolcott, daughter of Henry and 
Elizabeth Saunders Wolcott of Windsor. Matthew and his 
wife settled at Saybrook, Conn., at the establishment of the 
town in 1639. He was one of the peace magistrates of the 
first commissioner and had charge of Governor Fenwick's 
office and the affairs of the colony when the latter was away 
from home. Matthew had large tracts of land in old Lyme 
at a place called “Black Hally’ part of which is still owned 



GRISWOLD GENEALOGY 


129 


by his descendents. He died at “Black Hall” in 1693 and 
was buried at Saybrook, Conn., age 96 years. His wife, Ann, 
was born in 1620 and married Oct. 16, 1646, to “Matthew,” 
called the “first” of Lyme, since he had many descendents 
of that name. Matthew, the first, of Lyme, named the place 
for Lyme Regis, England. Matthew^ was the son of Matthew 
and Ann Wolcott Griswold. 

MATTHEW^ Griswold was born in Saybrook in 1653 and 
married May 21, 1683, Phebe Hyde, daughter of Samuel and 
Jane Lee Hyde. Matthew and his wife settled in Lyme, Conn., 
where he became a man of importance and distinction and 
one of the assistants of the Colony. His wife, Phebe, died at 
Lyme, Nov. 29, 1704. She was born in 1663. After her death 
Matthew married on the 30th of May, 1705, Widow Mary Lee. 
He died Jan. 13, 1716, age 63 years. Mary Lee died Oct. 27, 
1724, age 68 years. 

The Matthew Griswolds were buried in the cemetery at 
old Lyme, below the hill. Widow Mary Lee was widow of 
Thomas Lee, the first of Lyme. Her maiden name was Mary 
DeWolf. Children of Matthew^ Griswold and Phebe, his wife: 

Elizabeth, b. 1685; d. 1764. 

Sarah, b. 1687; d. 1760. 

Matthew, b. 1688; d. 1712. 

John, b. 1690 ; m. Hannah Lee. 

George, b. 1692; m. (1) Elizabeth Hyde, (2) Hannah 
Lynde. 

Mary, b. 1694; la. Edmond Dorr. 

DEBORAH, b. 1696; m. Robert Denison. 

Prudence, b. 1698; m. John Denison. 

Samuel, b. 1701; d. 1727. 

Thomas, b. 1703; d. 1719. 

Phebe, b. 1704; 1704. 

DEBORAH GRISWOLD, b. 1696 at Lyme, married Oct. 
19, 1721, Major Robert Denison, son of Captain Denison and 



130 


GRISWOLD-DENISON LINE 


Joanna Stanton Denison. Robert Denison was born in 1697 
and died June 11, 1766. He was in General Wolcott’s brigade 
at the taking of Loiiisburg and was promoted to rank of 
Maj.-Col. He later moved to Nova Scotia and there died in 
1766. Deborah died 1732. He married (2) Prudence Sher¬ 
man. The children were all by his first wife. Children of 
Major Robert Denison and Deborah Griswold Denison: 

Deborah, b. Dec., 1722; ra. Christopher Mannering. 

Elizabeth, b. 1723; d. young. 

Robert, b. March, 1724; d. young. 

ELIZABETH, b. Sept. 10, 1726; m. Nathan Smith. 

Andrew, b. 1728; m. Mary Thompson. 

Mary, b. 1730; d. 1743. 

Robert, b. 1732; d. 1732. 

, Daniel, b. 1737. 

ELIZABETH DENISON, born Sept. 10, 1726, married 
Nathan Smith of Groton, Conn. He was born in Groton, Sept. 
18, 1724, died March 13, 1810. Elizabeth died Feb. 14, 1813. 
Both are buried in the Smith Lake cemetery at Groton, Conn. 
Their daughter: 

PPIEBE SMITH, born Aug. 11, 1765, at Groton, married 
Ivory Douglas in 1782 at New London, Conn. They settled 
at Chelsea, Vt., in 1789. He was one of the first deacons of the 
Congregational church at Chelsea and was Selectman and a 
man of importance in the town. He died in 1825 and was born 
in 1761. Phebe died in 1853. Their children were: CHAR¬ 
LOTTE, Sarah, Ederessa, Ivory, Lucas, Henry, and Daniel. 
His Will is recorded in Chelsea. 

CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS, daughter of Ivory and Phebe 
Smith Douglas, was born in Chelsea, Vt., 1791. She married 
Jared C. Smith at Geneva Lake, Wis. (This, according to 
Douglas Genealogy, on Nov. 15, 1811.) His 1812 war pension 
papers state that they were married at Louisville, New York 
state. There is where they settled and lived many years after 




DENISQN-DQUGLA^ LINE 


131 


the War of 1812, in which Jared C. Smith served in Captain 
Willard’s Co., N. Y. Militia, 1st Reg. He died in Williams- 
ville, Canada, West, April 10, 1843. 

He was born at Bolton, Vt., near Richmond, 1786. Char¬ 
lotte, his widow, died at '‘Valley Rest,” Omaha, Neb., June 
6, 1878, 89 years of age. She lived the last years of her life 
with her son, John Keysar Smith, at their country seat and 
there died. She is buried at Prospect Hill cemetery, Omaha, 
Neb. Children born in New York state: 

Angus, b. 1812; d. 16 years old. 

Thaddeus, b. 1815; d. Fon du Lac, Wis.; m. Amanda. 

JOHN K., b. 1818; d. Florence, Neb.; m. Marj^ Ann 
Shearer. 

Charlotte, b. 1821; d. Florence, Neb.; m. John Diffin. 

Henry, b. 1822; d. Lake Geneva, Wis.; m. Eliza Marsh. 

Lydia, b, 1824; d. young. 

JOHN KEYSAR SMITH, born Feb. 15, 1818, married 
Mary Ann Shearer, June 11, 1846, at Rockport, Ill. She was 
bom in Lycoming County, Pa., and was the daughter of Joel 
and Phebe Blackwell Shearer of New York state. 

John Keysar Smith went to California during the gold 
hunting days of 1849. He came home to Illinois and with his 
wife and babe and his treasure in gold removed to Iowa, 
Davis County, for a few years, coming later into Nebraska 
in 1857, while Nebraska was still a territory. Undergoing 
the hardships of pioneering, he helped establish safety in the 
country by enlisting against the Indians in 1861. He was 
chosen Captain of Florence Rifles and later was Sergeant of 
Commissary Department of Nebraska troops in 1862. (See 
War Records.) 

He died at “Valley Rest,” May 5, 1875. Mary Ann Smith 
died at Omaha, May 1, 1893. Both are buried at Prospect 




132 


DOUGLAS-SMITH LINE 


Hill cemetery, Omaha, on the same lot with Charlotte Douglas 
Smith, his mother. Children of John K. and Mary Ann Smith : 
Marietta. 

Jared Joel. 

Perry Douglas. 

Thaddeus. 

Harriet. 

Phebe Cora. 

Angeline Pickering Crane, 2535 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 



HYDE GENEALOGY 


133 


Hyde Genealogy 

Ref.—Walworth, Vol. 1, p. 1, Hyde Gene. 

William Hyde of Norwich, Conn,, probably came in 1633 
with Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first minister of Hartford, 1636. 

He removed to Saybrook, (the name of his wife not 
known, nor where she died). William was a man of consider¬ 
able importance among the settlers of Connecticut at Norwich 
and was frequently elected as one of the townsmen (council- 
men). 

He died at Norwich, Jan. 6, 1681. His home lot was not 
divided, but was deeded to his grandson, William Hyde, 

Wm. Hyde was a son of Jonathan Hyde, 1603, and Mary 
French, daughter of Wm. French. Children: 

Hester, b. in England; m. John Post. 

SAMUEL, b. in Hartford, Conn.; m. Jane Lee. 

SAMUEL ITYDE, son of Wm. Hyde\ was born at Hart¬ 
ford, Conn., about 1637; died 1677 at Norwich; only son of 
Wm. Hyde. He married June, 1659, Jane Lee of East Say- 
brook (now Lyme), Conn. She was the daughter of Thomas 
and Phebe Lee. Children : 

Elizabeth, b. 1660. 

PHEBE, b. 1663. 

Samuel, b. 1665. 

John, b. 1667. 

Thomas, b. 1672. 

Sara, b. 1672; died. 

Jabez, b. 1677. 

PHEBE HYDE, born 1663, died Nov. 29, 1704, at Nor¬ 
wich ; married Matthew Griswold, May 21, 1683. He was 
born in 1653 and died Jan. 13, 1716, age 63. They first settled 
at Lyme, Conn. He was a man of distinction and assistance 
to the Colony. Children of Phebe Hyde and Matthew Gris¬ 
wold : 



134 


HYDE-GRISWOLD LINE 


Matthew, b. 1688; d. 1712. 

John, b. 1690; m. Hannah Lee. 

George, b. 1692; m. Elizabeth Lee. 
Samuel, b. 1701; d. 1727. 

Thomas, b. 1703; d. 1719. 

Phebe, b. 1684; d. 1702. 

Elizabeth, b. 1685; d. 1704. 

Sarah, b. 1687; d. 1760. 

Mary, b. 1694; m. Edmund Dorr. 
DEBORAH, b. 1696; m. Robert Denison. 
Prudence, b. 1698; m. John Denison. 


DEBORAH GRISWOLD, daughter of Phebe Hyde Gris¬ 
wold and Matthew^ Griswold, born 1696 at Lyme, Conn., 
married Oct. 19, 1721, to Major Robert Denison, son of Capt. 
Robert Denison and Joanna Stanton Denison. Major Robert 
Denison, born 1697, died June 11, 1766. Capt. Denison had 
500 acres of land conveyed to him by Owaneco, Sachem of the 
Mohegan Indians, Jan. 10, 1710, on the border of Lake Gar¬ 
diner near New London (now Montreville), upon which he 
settled and died a few years later, and his son, Robert, and 
wife, Deborah, settled on the land of his father, Capt. 
Robert Denison, at East Say brook. He was made Captain 
and was with General Roger Wolcott at the taking of Louis- 
burg and was promoted to Major and Colonel. Major Robert 
Denison removed to Nova Scotia (Horton). His wife, Deborah 
Griswold Denison, died in 1732, and he married (2) Prudence 
Sherman. He had seven children by his first wife: 

Deborah, b. Dec., 1722; m. Christopher Mannering. 

Elizabeth, b. 1723; died in infancy. 

Robert, b. March 11, 1724; died May, 1724, 

ELIZABETH, b. Sept. 10, 1726; m. Nathan Smith. 

Andrew, b. 1728; m. Mary Thompson. 

Mary, b. 1730; d. 1743. 

Robert, b. 1732; d. 1732. 

Daniel, b. 1727. 



GRISWOLD-DENISON LINE 


135 


ELIZABETH DENISON, daughter of Major Robert Deni¬ 
son and Deborah Griswold Denison, b. Sept. 10, 1726, married 
Nathan Smith. He was born Sept. 18,1724, and died in Washing¬ 
ton, Mass., March 13, 1810, at the age of 85. Elizabeth died 
Feb. 14, 1813. Both are buried in Smith Lake cemetery, 
Groton, Conn. 

Their daughter, Phebe Smith, born Aug. 11, 1765, at Gro¬ 
ton, Conn., died in 1853. She married Ivory Douglas in 1782 
at New London, Conn. They settled at Chelsea, Vt., in 1789. 
He was one of the first Deacons of the Congregational church 
there. He was born in New London in 1761, and died in 
1825 at New London while on a visit there. He had fourteen 
children. 

Their daughter, CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS, one of four¬ 
teen children, was born in Chelsea, Vt., in 1789, and married 
Jared C. Smith at Lake Geneva, Wis., Nov. 15, 1811, and died 
at Florence, Neb., “Valley Rest,” June 6, 1878, at 89 years. 
Her husband, Jared C. Smith, served in the War of 1812, 
Capt. Benj. Willard’s Co., N. Y. Militia, 1st Reg., N. Y. He 
was born at Bolton, Vt. (near Richmond), 1786, and died at 
Williamsville, Canada, West, April 10, 1843. 

Their son, John Keysar Smith, born in 1818 in St. Law¬ 
rence County, N. Y., married Mary Ann Shearer at Rockport, 
111., June 11, 1848. He went overland to California in 1849. 
He came home by the Isthmus with a fortune in gold, but 
with broken health. He joined his family at Rockport, Ill., 
and removed to Nebraska in 1657, while Nebraska was still 
a territory. He settled at Florence, Neb., buying a home 
there. He enlisted in the War of 1861 (Pension Records). He 
was Captain of Florence Rifles and Commissary Sergeant of 
Co. A, 2nd Reg., Neb. Cavalry, 1862-3. Before the war he 
bought 160 acres of land north of Florence (now Omaha), and 
spent the remainder of his life there. He died May 5, 1875, at 
“Valley Rest” of typhoid fever. Mary Ann Shearer, born in 
Lycoming County, Pa., married June II, 1848, died at Omaha, 
Neb., May 1, 1893. Her sons, Jared and Douglas, are living 
at “Valley Rest,” her home. 



136 


LEE GENEALOGY 


Lee Genealogy 

Ref.—Savage. 

Thomas Lee came from England in 1641 with his wife and 
three children. He died on the passage and his widow and 
children came to Saybrook. Phebe Brown was the wife of 
Thomas Lee. Children: 

Thomas Lee, settled in Lyme, Conn. 

Sarah Lee, married John Lange; settled at Long Island. 

JANE LEE, married Samuel Hyde. 

Samuel Hyde and Jane Lee Hyde came to Norwich in 
1660. Their eldest daughter, born Aug., 1660, was the first 
white child born in Norwich Conn. He had lands assigned to 
him. West Farms, Norwich, Conn., where he died in 1677, 40 
years old. The date of his wife’s death is not kno-wn. 

Children at Saybrook: 

Samuel, b. 1665; m. Elizabeth Calkins. 

John, b. 1667; m. Experience Abel. 

William, b. 1670; m. Ann Bushnell. 

Thomas, b. 1672; m. Mary Backus. 

Jabez, b. 1677; m. Elizabeth Bushnell. 

Elizabeth, b. 1660; m. Lieut. Richard Lord. 

Children at Norwich. 

PHEBE, b. Jan., 1663; m. MATTHEW GRISWOLD. 

Sarah, b. 1675; died same year. 

Phebe Hyde married Matthew Griswold May 21, 1683. He 
was born in 1653, son of Matthew Griswold and Ann Wolcott 
Griswold. (See Griswold Genealogy.) 



BROWNE and lee LINE 


187 


Browne and Lee Line 

William Browne married Jane Burgis in 1611. They came 
to New England, and the Rusper Register shows he did not 
come before 1645. He came to Say brook, Conn., and died on 
Long Island in 1650. 

His son, Henry Browne, went to Providence, R. I. Family 
papers, deed letters and documents from 1627 to 1800 are now 
in the hands of the deseendents of Henry. One document, 
dated 1627, is a bond to William Browne, schoolmaster in 
Rusper, England. Henry’s wife unknown. 

His daughter, Phoebe Browne, married Thomas Lee. She 
was probably born in Rhode Island. 

Their daughter, Jane Lee, who was baptized in Rusper, 
Sept. 12, 1640, was twice married, (1) to Samuel Hyde of 
Norwich, Conn. By him she had a daughter, Elizabeth, who 
married Lieut. Richard Lord of Lyme, and a daughter, Phoebe, 
who married Matthew^ Griswold of Lyme, Conn. 

Phebe Hyde, born 1663, died 1704; married at Norwich, 
Conn., Matthew Griswold of Lyme, Conn., May 21, 1683. 

Ref.—New England Register, Vol. 61, 1907. 



138 


REFERENCES TO MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY 


References to Mayflower Ancestry 

(which concern the John K. Smith Family Line) 
Mayflower Descendents, Vol. I, pp. 7-75-74-71. 
History of New London, pp. 277-363. 

N. E. H. G. Reg., pp. 53-113. 

New London Town Rec., 1-3. 

Gen. Soc. Files Mayflower Descendents, Vol. I, p. 74. 
Hist, of Stonington, pp. 339-341. 

Denison Gene., 1881, pp. 34 and 36. 

Hist. New London, pp. 334-363. 

Douglas Gene., pp. 69-84. 

Early Conn. Marr., 2:23. 



MAYFLOWER LINE 


139 


Brewster-Douglas-Smith-Pickering Mayflower line 

Elder William Brewster, b. 1566, d. April 10, 1644. Mary, 
his wife, b. 1567, d. April 17, 1627. 

Ref.—Savage, Vol. I. 

Their son, Jonathan Brewster, b. Aug. 12, 1593; d. Aug. 
7, 1659; m. Lucretia Oldham, April 10, 1624. Lucretia Oldham 
Brewster, b. .., March 4, 1678-9. 

Ref.—Savage, Vol. I. 

Their daughter, Grace Brewster, b. Nov. 1, 1639, Dux- 
bury, Mass., d. April 12, 1684, New London; m. Daniel Weth- 
erell, Aug. 4, 1659. Daniel Wetherell, b. Nov. 29, 1630, Maid¬ 
stone, England, d. April 14, 1719, New London. 

Ref.—Brewster Book, Vol. I; Mayflower, p. 209, (up¬ 
side down). 

Their daughter, Mary Wetherell, b. Oct. 7, 1668, New Lon¬ 
don, d. Aug. 22, 1711, New London; m. George Denison, 1693. 
George Denison, b. March 28, 1671, d. 1720, New London. 

Ref.—Denison Gene, and Brewster Book, p. 196, (up¬ 
side down). 

Their daughter, Sara Denison, b. June 20, 1710, d. May 
12, 1796; m. William Douglas, March 4, 1730. William Doug¬ 
las, b. Jan. 1, 1708, d. Nov. 27, 1787. 

Ref.—Douglas Gene. 

Their son, William Douglas, b. Feb. 7, 1731, d. Oct. 1,1805; 
ra. Mary Lucas, May 31, 1752. Mary Lucas, b. 1727, d. Jan. 
31, 1810. 

Ref.—New London Vital Stat., Vol. 2, Douglas Gene. 

Their son. Ivory Douglas, b. 1761, New London, d. 1825, 
New London; m. Phebe Smith, 1782, Groton, Conn. Phebe 
Smith Douglas, b. Aug. 11, 1765, d. 1853, Chelsea, Vt. 

Ref.—Denison Gene., pp. 6-60. 



140 


MAYFLOWER LINE 


Their daughter, Charlotte Douglas, b. 1791, d. June 6, 
1878; m. Jared C. Smith, March 15, 1811. Jared C. Smith, b. 
1786, d. April 10, 1843. 

Ref.—Douglas Gene, and Family Bible. 

Their son, John Keysar Smith, b. 1818, d. May 5, 1875; 
m. Mary Ann Shearer, June 11, 1848. Mary Ann Shearer, 
b. March 12, 1825, d. May 1, 1893. 

Their daughter, Angeline Leonora Smith, b. Feb. 23, 1869, 
d. May 13, 1922; m. Benjamin E. Pickering, Oct. 25, 1887. 
Benjamin E. Pickering, b. Sept. 7, 1866, d. June 6, 1916. 

Their daughter, Bethel Leonora Pickering, b. Feb. 18, 
1889, d. May 1, 1920 ; m. Othel Charles Brown, April 18, 1911. 
Othel Charles Brown, b. Feb. 24, 1889. 

Ref.—^Family Bible. 

Their daughter, Roberta Angeline Brown, b. March 9, 
1916. She was four years old when her mother died. 

Doane Turner Pickering, b. Dec. 27, 1892; Avery Benja¬ 
min Pickering, b. March 22, 1898. (^ns of Benjamin E. 
Pickering and Angeline L. Smith.) 



COIT-DOUGLAS LINE 


141 


Coit-Douglas Line 

Ref.—New London Rec., Vol. 2, p. 70; Hinman, Vol. I. 

Among the families which have been prominently identi¬ 
fied with the history of the commonwealth of Connecticut for 
almost three centuries the name of Coit is one of especial 
distinction. As in the majority of Colonial families the male 
members of the earlier generations were mainly engaged in 
farming or seafaring occupations, but there has been a large 
number of lawyers, merchants and holders of public offices 
of responsibility, in later days. 

At first the Coits were more closely connected with New 
London and Plainfield but later they are found at Preston 
and Griswold, and since the Revolutionary War they have 
settled at Norwich, Conn., to a large extent. 

John Coit, immigrant ancestor of the New London and 
Norwich families, was probably born in Glaenmorganshire, 
Wales, from whence he came to America between 1630 and 
1638 and died Aug. 29, 1659. He had a grant of land in 1638 
at Salem, Mass. He later removed to Gloucester in 1644, was 
made a freeman in 1647, and Selectman there in 1648. He was 
owner of a quantity of land on Wheeler’s Point and Planter’s 
Neck, and received a grant of land in New London, Conn., in 
1650, where he went the following year. The same John Coit 
married Mary Ganners in England. She died Jan. 2, 1676, in 
New London. Their children were all born in England prior 



142 


COIT-DOUGLAS LINE 


to emigration of the family. Children: 

John; m. Mary Stowe. 

JOSEPH; m. July 15, 1667, Martha Harris. 

Mary; m. John Steven. 

Martha; m. Hugh Mold. 

DEACON JOSEPH COIT, son of John and Mary Ganners 
Coit, came to New London with his parents in 1651. He 
married Martha Harris, July 15, 1667, and died March 27, 
1704, in New London. He spent the greater part of his life 
in New London, being engaged in the shipbuilding business 
with his brother-in-law, Hugh Mold. They were early in the 
same business with the first John Coit, father of Joseph. The 
ships were the Speedwell, Hopewell and Endeavor, and were 
built by Joseph Coit and Hugh Mould. Both Deacon Joseph 
Coit and his wife joined the church in 1681, in which he be¬ 
came deacon. The greater number of persons bearing the 
name of Coit in Connecticut are descendents of Deacon Joseph 
Coit. His wife, Martha Harris Coit, daughter of William and 
Edith Harris of Wetherfield, Conn., died July 10, 1710, at New 
London. Their children were: 

John; m. Mehitable Chandler. 

Joseph; m. Experience Wheeler. 

William; m. Sara Chandler. 

Daniel; m. ? 

SOLOMON, b. Nov. 29, 1679; m. Mary Stowe, 1706. 

Samuel. 

SOLOMON COIT, son of Deacon Joseph Coit and Martha 
Harris Coit, was born Nov. 29, 1679; married Mary Stowe at 
Middleton, Conn., Dec. 24, 1706. In 1724, he was appointed 
to keep the town magazine arsenal at New London. He 
married (2) Elizabeth Short, (3) Abigail Corg (Hinman, Vol. 
I). Mary Stowe Coit died July 7, 1713. Children: 

Solomon, b. 1710; died young. 

MARY, b. June 30, 1713; m. Ivory Lucas, May 19, 1733. 



COIT-LUCAS LINE 


143 


Nathaniel, b. 1715, had a large family by Margret Doug> 
las, b. 1717. 

MARY COIT, b. June 30, 1713, married Ivory Lucas of 
New London, Conn., May 19, 1733, (later of Middletown, 
Conn). Their daughter, Mary Lucas, born 1737, died 1810; 
married Wm. Douglas, born 1731, died 1805, the 31st of May, 
1752. 

Ref.—New London Record, Vol. 2, p. 70. 

Children: 

William; m. Lucretia Caulkins. 

Margret. 

Mary. 

Caleb. 

IVORY; m. Phebe Smith of Groton. 

Daniel. 

Josiah. 

(See Smith Genealogy.) 



144 


MARRIS-COIT LINE 


Harris-Goit Line 

Robert Harris came to Charleston from England in 1642 
and to Boston in 1644. He was made freeman, Jan., 1650, 
married Elizabeth Bolfee or (Boughey), Jan. 24, 1642. He 
died Jan., 1701. His wife, Elizabeth, was a daughter of an 
Englishman, father of Bold Boffee. (Savage, Vol. II.) 

Robert Harris came to Roxbury, Mass., and removed to 
Brookline in 1655, then built a house where his descendents 
have lived in an unbroken line up to 1828. Children: 

Elizabeth. 

John. 

Timothy. 

Daniel. 

Priscilla. 

Anthony. 

WILLIAM. 

Robert and wife united with John Eliot’s church, Aug. 8, 
1647. Robert died about 1662, when, the record states, Eliza¬ 
beth wrote a beautiful letter to her brother, Bold Boffee, in 
England, telling of her loss. 

Wm. Harris, of Charleston, brother of Anthony Harris, 
in 1642 was brought by his widowed mother, Elizabeth, to Row- 
ley, Conn., and removed to Charleston again, and in a few 

years removed to Middleton, and there he married Edith-, 

and had: 

Hanna, b. Charleston, Feb., 1675; m. Francis Whitten. 

Mary, b. Rowley, March 1, 1646; m. John Ware. 

MARTHA, b. 1648; m. Joseph Coit, July 15, 1667. 

Elizabeth; m. John Foster. 

Patience; m. Dan Markham. 

Wm. Harris lost his wife, Edith, by death, Aug. 5, 1685. 
He married (2) Lydia, widow of Joseph Smith. He died 
in 1717. 





HARRIS-COIT LINE 


145 


MARTHA HAHRIS, daughter of Wm. Harris and wife, 
Edith, born in 1648, married Joseph Coit of New London, 
Conn., July 15, 1667. Joseph Coit was the son of John Coit 
and Mary Gamier Coit, early immigrants to New London, 
Conn. Joseph died March 27, 1704, in New London, Conn. 
(See Coit Gene.; Mass. Gene.) 



146 


STOWE-COIT LINE 


Stowe-Ooit Line 

Ref.—N. E. Hist. Rec., Vol. 29; p. 253; Savage, Vol. 11. 

JOHN STOWE, ancestor of the Connecticut Stowes, was 
born in Biddelinden, Kent County, England, Jan. 14, 1581, 
and died at Concord, Mass., 1658. He married at Biddelinden, 
Sept. 13, 1608, Elizabeth Biggs, daughter of John and Rachel 
Martin Biggs of Cranstrake, Kent County, England. (Biggs 
Will.) She died Aug. 21, 1638, at Roxbury, Mass. Rev. John 
Eliot makes the following record: “She was a very Godly 
Matron, a blessing not only to her family, but to all the 
church, and when she had led a Christian conversation a few 
years among us, she died and left a good son behind her. “ 
John Stowe settled in Roxbury and continued there until 
about 1648 when his youngest daughter was married, when he 
probably removed to Concord, and there is no further record 
of him in Roxbury, Mass, 

The death of John Stowe is recorded in 1653 and in a 
letter in 1696, by his son, Rev. Samuel Stowe, it is stated 
that “his father had been dead above these forty years,and 
the Roxbury records show that his son-in-law, John Pierpont, 
held property in Roxbury, “that he hath from his father-in- 
law, John Stowe, lately deceased in 1654,“ and there is no 
record of any other John Stowe (except his son), who was 
living in 1660, when he gave land to the Grammar School in 
Roxbury; and Farmer, the genealogist, stated that he had 
reason to believe him dead before 1663. Children of John^ 
Stowe and Elizabeth Biggs Stowe : 

THOMAS^ STOWE, b. England, April 2, 1615, d. Middle- 
ton, Conn., about 1684; m. Mary Griggs at Roxbury, 
Mass., Dec. 4, 1639; d, at Middleton, Aug. 21, 1680. 
Children. 

John^ b. 1641; m. Mary Whetmore. 

Mary, 1643. 



STOWE-COIT LINE 


147 


Thankful. 

ELIZABETH. 

Nathaniel. 

Samuel. 

Thomas^. 

ELIZABETH STOWE, second child of John and Elizabeth, 
b. in England, Aug. 31, 1617, d. at Ipswich, Mass., April 11, 
1669; married at Roxbury, Dec. 4, 1639, Henry Arthur, and 
settled at Ipswich, Mass. 

John Stowe, baptized in England, Oct. 10, 1619, died prob¬ 
ably 1663 at Concord, Mass. 

Nathaniel, baptized in England, Oct. 7, 1625, died at Con¬ 
cord, Mass., May 30, 1684; came to New England wdth his 
parents in 1634; married Elizabeth-. 

Samuel Stowe, fifth child, born in England, Feb. 8, 1623, 
came to New England with his parents; graduated from Har¬ 
vard College in 1645, studied for the ministry with Mr. Ma- 
vinish, and assisted his father, John Stowe, as teacher in the 
Grammar School in Roxbury. He preached first at Chilme- 
ford, Mass., where about 1649 he married Hope Fletcher, 
daughter of Wm. Fletcher of Chilmeford. He preached in 
several places. In Middleton, Conn., he preached to the 
planters ten years, but was never settled. He died at Middle- 
ton, May 8, 1704. His wife died before him, but no account 
of her death is recorded. The name Stowe became extinct in 
his line at the death of his grandson, Samuel, son of John 
and Esther Stow^e, age 22 years and unmarried. 

The name was revived among his descendents by the 
marriage of Harriet Beecher and Prof. Calvin Ellis Stowe 
from another branch of the Stowe family. Harriet Beecher 
was a sister of Henry Ward Beecher and was a descendent 
of Rev. Samuel Stowe of Middleton, Conn. 

Thankful Stowe, born in England, March 29, 1629, came 
to New England with her parents in 1634, and was the sixth 
and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Stowe of Biddel- 




148 


STOWE-COIT LINE 


inden, Kent County, England. She married John Pierpoint 
of Ipswich and Roxbury, Mass., who died at Roxbury, Dec. 7, 
1682, age 64 years. They were the ancestors of the Pierpoint 
family in America, though his father and brother came to 
America. No descendents are recorded later unless it was in 
the female line, whose identity was lost by marriage and 
subsequent change of name. The above account of the first 
family of Stowe to come to America from England is drawn 
from notes of Miss Elizabeth French, official genealogist for 
the New England Historical Society of Boston, and is strictly 
true and reliable. 

THOMAS^ STOWE, eldest son of John' Stowe, married 
Mary Griggs, Dec. 4, 1639, at Roxbury, Mass. His Will was 
probated Feb. 23, 1684. His wife died Aug. 21, 1680. Children: 

JOHN, b. Feb. 3, 1641; m. Mary Whetmore. 

Mary, b. Feb. 6, 1643; m. A. Spaulding. 

Thankful; m. John Hill. 

Elizabeth; m. Sam Bidwell. 

Nathaniel. 

Samuel. 

Thomas; m. Bethia Stoekey, Oct. 16, 1675. 

JOHN STOWE, born 1641, of Middleton, Conn., son of 
Thomas', married Mary Whetmore, Nov. 13, 1668. He died 
Oct. 18, 1688. She was the daughter of Thomas Whetmore 
and Sara Hall Whetmore. She was born in Hartford, Conn., 
in 1649. John Stowe was the son of Thomas Stowe and Mary 
Griggs of Middleton, Conn. Children : 

John; drowned young. 

Jolin^, b. March, 1672. 

Thomas, b. April 10, 1674. 

Nathaniel, b. Feb. 22, 1676. 

MARY, b. June, 1678; m. Solomon Coit. 

Hannah, b. Aug. 25, 1680. 

Samuel, b. April 20, 1684; d, young. 

Thankful, b. July 15, 1686; d. young. 



STOWE-COIT LINE 


149 


Experience, b. Sept. 30, 1688. 

Sara; d. young. 

MARY STOWE, b. June, 1678, married Solomon Coit, son 
of Deacon Joseph and Martha Harris Coit of New London, 
Conn. They married Dec. 24, 1706. He was bom Nov. 
29, 1679. 

Ref.—Hinman, Vol. I; New London Rec., Vol. 2, p. 70. 



150 


STOWE-WHETMORB LINE 


Stowe-Whetmore Line 

Ref.—Conn. Gene., Vol. II; Mass. Gene., p. 1050; 

Savage, IV, Conn. Ancestry; Trumbull Col. Rec., Vol, I, 

p. 197. 

Thomas Wetmore, the immigrant ancestor of the Middle- 
ton families, was born in 1615 in England. He came to Amer¬ 
ica in 1635, sailing from Bristol, and he settled at Wethertield, 
Conn., where in 1639-40 he was a land owner. 

He removed to Hartford soon afterwards and in 1649 
was one of the first settlers of Massabesect, which was in¬ 
corporated as the town of Middleton, Conn., Nov. 23, 1653. 

Thomas Wetmore was admitted as freeman, May 20, 1652, 
and must have been a member of the orthodox church. He 
was worth at least £200 at the settlement of Middleton. He 
represented that town in General Assembly in 1654-55; died 
Dec. 11, 1681, aged 66 years. His Will was dated July 20, 
1681. He married (1) Sara, daughter of John and Ann AVii- 
licke Hall, Dec. 11, 1645. Sara died Dee. 7, 1664-5. 

Children of Thomas Whetmore (Wetmore) and Sara Hall 
AVetmore were born in Hartford and Middleton, Conn. The 
first four were born in Hartford: 

John, bap. Sept. 6, 1646. 

Elizabeth, bap. 1648. 

MARY, b. 1649; m. John Stowe. 

Sara, bap. Aug. 20, 1651; d. 1655, 

Thomas, b. Oct. 19, 1652; m. Elizabeth Hubbard. ‘ 

Hannah, b. Feb. 13, 1654. 

Samuel, b. Sept. 10, 1656, 

Azariah, b. March 8, 1658. 

Beriah, bap. Nov. 2, 1659; m. Margret Stowe. 

Nathaniel, bap. April 21, 1661; m. Dorcas Allen. 

Joseph, bap. Mar. 5, 1662; m. Lydia Bacon. 



WHETMORE-COIT LINE 


151 


Sarah, bap. Nov. 27, 1664. 

MARY WHETMORE, born 1649 at Hartford, Conn., mar¬ 
ried at Middleton Nov. 13, 1668, John Stowe, born 1641 at 
Middleton, son of Thomas^ Stowe and Mary Griggs Stowe, his 
wife. John Stowe died Oct. 18, 1688, at Middleton, Conn. 
Children of John Stowe and Mary Whetmore Stowe, his wife; 
John, drowned young. 

John, b. March, 1672. 

Thomas, b. April 10, 1674. 

Nathaniel, b. Feb. 22, 1676. 

MARY, b. June, 1678; m. Solomon Coit. 

Hannah, b. Aug. 25, 1680. 

Samuel, b. April 20, 1684; d. young. 

Thankful, b. July 15, 1686; d. young. 

Experience, b. Sept. 30, 1688. 

Sara, d. young. 


MARY STOWE, born June, 1678, at Middleton, Conn., 
married Solomon Coit of New London, Conn., son of Deacon 
Joseph and Martha Harris Coit, born at New London, Nov. 
29, 1679. 

Mary Stowe and Solomon Coit were married Dec. 24, 1706, 
at Middleton. Solomon Coit was appointed in 1724 as keeper 
of the Arsenal at New London, where he lived. Children of 
Solomon and Mary Stowe Coit born at New London. Conn.: 

Ref.r— Hinman, Vol. 1. 

Solomon, b. 1710; d. young. 

MARY, b. June 30, 1712; m. Ivory Lucas. 

Nathaniel; m. Margret Douglas. 

Ref.—New London Rec., Vol. 2, p. 70. 

Mx\RY COIT, born June 30, 1713, at New London, Conn., 
married at that place May 19, 1733, Ivory Lucas of New Lon¬ 
don. Mary Coit Lucas died May 28, 1802. 


152 


WHETMORE-COKT LINE 


Their daughter, MARY LUCAS, born 1737, married May 
31, 1752, at New London, Wm. Douglas, born Peb. 7, 1731. 
He was the son of Wm. and Sara Denison Douglas of New 
London. Mary Lucas Douglas died Jan. 31, 1810. 

Their son, IVORY DOUGLAS, born 1761 in New London, 
married 1782 Phebe Smith, born Aug. 11,1765, died 1853. They 
settled in Vermont in 1789 and he died in 1825 at Chelsea, Vt., 
where his Will is recorded. See Douglas Gene.) 



HALL-WHETMORE LINE 


15^ 


Hall-Whetmore Line. 

Ref.—Trumble Col. Rec., Vol. 1, p. 197. 

Mass. Gene., Vol. II, p. 1050. 

Savage, IV. 

JOHN HALL was one of the pioneer settlers of Hartford, 
Conn., Middleton, and Guilford, Conn. He was among the 
earliest settlers of New England. John Hall, born in England, 
was the immigrant ancestor of the Middleton, Conn., family 
and the Guilford branch of the family of Halls. He was born 
in 1584 and came from County Kent, England, in 1633. Settled 
first in Cambridge and later in Roxbury, Mass., where his 
name is mentioned on Mr. Eliot’s church roll. Mr. Hall had 
the honor of being one of the persons who discovered the Con¬ 
necticut river and assisted in plating the towns of Windsor, 
Hartford and Wetherfield. Governor Winslow mentions the 
expedition of Oldham under the date of Sept. 4, 1633. 

% 

Drake says: ‘‘They were at the Connecticut river Oct., 
1633, and returned to the baytown on Jan. 28, following when 
they reported concerning the rich bottom lands of Connecti¬ 
cut” which led to the emigration from Dorchester, Mass., to 
Windsor and Wetherfield, Conn., and from Cambridge, Mass., 
to Hartford, Conn., in 1635-6. Mr. Hall was made freeman of 
Boston May 6, 1635, and was one of those who joined the 
company of Hooker and Stone in the great emigration 1635-6. 
He drew a house lot, No. 77, of six acres on Lord’s Hill at 
Hartford. He also bought lands of Hooker and Bloomfield. 

He was a carpenter by trade. His wife was Esther and 
they had three sons and a daughter, Sara. Mr. Hall died at 
Middleton, Conn., May 26, 1673, age 89 years. Children: 

John. 

Richard. ^ 



154 HALL-WHETMORE LINE 


Samuel. 

SARA. 

SARA HALL, daughter of John and Esther Hall of Hart¬ 
ford was born at that place in England, which had been their 
former home in Kent County. She married at Middleton, Mr. 
Thomas Whetmore, of Middleton. He was born in England in 
1615; married Sara Hall Dec. 11, 1645, died Dec. 11, 1681. 
Sara died Dec. 7, 1664. (See Stowe Whetmore Line.) 



JUDGE WETHERELL LINE 


155 


Judge Wetherell Liiie. 

Ref.—Brewster Book. 

Rev. William Wetherell of Maidstone, County Kent, Eng¬ 
land, came with his wife Mary and three children, with one 
servent, in the ship ^‘Hercules’’ in 1635, and was at Scituate 
in 1644. He was a schoolmaster in England, having kept a 
free school at Sandwich. His wife was Mary Fisher. 

His son, Daniel Wetherell, of New London, Conn., was 
born in England Nov. 29, 1630; married Grace Brewster, 
granddaughter of Elder Wm. Brewster, at New London, Aug. 
4, 1659. He died April 14, 1719. He received an A. B. at 
Cambridge in 1622 and was a Judge of the Supreme Court. 
(Brewster Book, Vol. 1.) 

His daughter, Mary Wetherell, born Oct. 7, 1688, married 
Geo. Denison 1693, died at New London 1711. (Denison Gene, 
and Brewster Book.) 

Their daughter, Sara Denison, born June 20, 1710, died 
May 12, 1796; married Wm. Douglas March 4, 1730. Wm. 
Douglas was born Jan. 1, 1708; died Nov. 27, 1787. (Douglas 
Gene.) 



156 


WETHERELL LINE 


Wetherell Line. 

Daniel Wetherell, born Nov. 29, 1630, in England, mar¬ 
ried Aug. 4, 1659, Grace, daughter of Jonathan Brewster; died 
April 14, 1719, at 89 years. (‘‘Judge Wetherell.”) 

Children of Daniel and Grace Brewster Wetherell: 

Hannah, b. Mar. 21, 1659-60. 

MARY, b. Oct. 7, 1668. 

Daniel, b. Jan. 26, 1670. 

Samuel, bap. Oct. 19, 1679. 

The two sons of Capt. Wetherell died young. His daugh¬ 
ter, Hannah, married Adam Picket. Mary married (1) Thomas 
Harris, (2) George Denison, father of Sara Denison Douglas, 
of New London, descendant of Wm. Brewster. (See Douglas 
Line, “Mayflower.”) 



LUCAS-COIT LINE 


157 


Lucas-Coit Line. 

Ref.—N. E. Hist, and Gene. Rec. 

Wm. Lucas came to America from England and was one 
of the first settlers of Middleton, Conn., when he married July 
12, 1666, Hester Clark, who died April 15, 1690. William died 
April 29,1690. Children: 

WILLIAM, b. 1667; m. 1695 Elizabeth Rowley. 

John, b. 1669; d. 1759. 

Mary, b. 1672; m. John Scovel. 

Samuel, b. 1682. 

WILLIAM^ LUCAS, born 1667, married in 1695 Elizabeth 
Rowley. He died in 1759. His son, IVORY LUCAS, born 1704, 
died' between 1735-1739. He married at New London May 
17. 1733, MARY COIT, born at New London June 30, 1712. 
Children: 

Abigail, bap. Sun., May 30, 1736. 

Elizabeth, bap. Sun., Jan. 6, 1739-40. 

MARY, bap. Sun., Feb. 19, 1737. 

Grace, bap. Sun., Feb. 19, 1737-8. 

Lucy, bap. Sun., Feb. 7, 1741-2. 

MARY LUCAS, baptized 1737, married at New London 
May 31, 1752, WM. DOUGLAS, son of Wm. and Sara Denison 
Douglas of New London, born Feb. 7, 1731, died Oct. 1, 1805. 
Mary died Jan. 31, 1810. 

Ref.—New Rec., Vol. 2, p. 70. 

Joshua Hempstead Dairy, p. 289-290-294, New London, 

Conn. 

Children of Mary Lucas Douglas and Wm. Douglas of New 
London: 

William. 

Daniel. 

Josiah. 



158 


Caleb. 

IVORY. 


LUCAS-COIT LINE 


IVORY DOUGLAS, born at New London, Conn., 1761, 
married at New London or Groton, Conn., 1782, Phebe Smith, 
born Aug. 11, 1765, died 1853. She was the daughter of 
Nathan and Elizabeth Denison Smith of New London and 
Groton, Conn. Ivory and wife, Phebe, settled at Chelsea, Vt., 
in 1789. He was one of the first Deacons of the Congregational 
church at Chelsea. Ivory died at New London while on a 
visit in 1825. Their daughter, CHARLOTTE, married Jared 
C. Smith of near Richmond. (See John Smith Line and Doug¬ 
las Line.) 



IN MEMORIAM 


159 


In Memoriam 

The death of Mrs. Angeline Pickering Crane's only 
daughter, Bethel Loenora Brown, in May, 1920, led to the con¬ 
ception of this family history as a memorial to her for the use 
of her daughter, Roberta Brown. 

Angeline Crane had an exceptionally logical and orderly 
mind, which is shown in this record. She had great persever¬ 
ance and energy and continued her work after the shadow of 
death had fallen on herself. 

In this work we collaborated and planned a second volume 
of tradition and narrative, as in the Brewster and Denison 
family histories. 

For two years I have collected stories and personal history 
of the various members of the Smith family. On Dec. 28th, 
1922, my husband and I drove down to Lincoln to visit Ange¬ 
line Crane and her husband. She had slowly recovered from 
a serious operation in June, 1922, and we compared our year’s 
work and made happy plans for the completion of her serious 
task of Genealogy. 

I undertook the notes of the members of the famiW in 
Omaha and other places. And Angeline penciled a few more 
notes in her orderly book of 250 pages. 

In March she was stricken by influenza and never rallied, 
although twelve doctors were called in consultation and she 
was taken to Green Gables Sanitarium in April for treatment. 

After bidding all of us good night on May 12th she died 
at 5 a. m., Sunday, May 13th. 

Her funeral rites were held at Vine Congregational eluu eh 
May 15th at 2:30 p. m. She had been one of its most untiring 
workers. She was President of the Ladies’ Society for many 
years and at the time of her death was Chairman of the Music 
Committee of the church. Dr. Bullock preached the funeral 



160 


IN MEMORIAM 


sermon and had naught but praise for the beautiful woman 
and faithful mother and wife, called from life while at the 
height of her usefulness, who lay at peace surrounded by all 
her mourning brothers and sisters, children, husband and 
friends. 


She was interred in Steele City by the side of her daughter 
Bethel. 


Cora Phebe Smith Mullin 


The following obituary was published in the Lincoln State 
Journal of May 18, 1923. 

“Mrs. Angie L. Pickering Crane, who died here last Sun¬ 
day, was the daughter of the late John Keysar Smith of 
Florence, Neb. She was a student at Doane College where she 
met Benj. E. Pickering, whom she married in Oct., 1887. They 
came to Lincoln in 1903, where they made their home and sent 
three children to the University. After Mr. Pickering’s death 
in 1916 she became a more active worker in affairs outside the 
home and was closely connected with the interests of the Vine 
Congregational church and the W. T. M. club of this city. Mrs. 
Crane was a member and active worker of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, the Daughters of Founders and 
Patriots of America, the Society of Mayflower Descendents, 
and the Daughters of Veterans, and she took an active interest 
in all genealogical matters, having just recently completed a 
family history dating back to mediaeval times. She was also 
a member of the State Historical Society and of the Temple 
Chapter, O. E. S. Mrs. Crane is survived by her husband, Geo. 
F. Crane, her two sons. Doane T. Pickering, and Avery H. 
Pickering, and four granddaughters, Roberta Brown, Roma 
Suzaine, Martha Ann and Bethel Pickering. She leaves one 
sister, Mrs. C. H. Mullin of Omaha, and three brothers, J. J. 
Smith and P. D. Smith of Florence, Neb., and T. R. Smith of 
Jarosa, Colo., besides a host of other relatives and friends in 
this vicinity. 






BIOGRAPHY 

of 

THE JOHN KEYSAR SMITH 
FAMILY 
of 

“Valley Rest” 
FLORENCE, NEBRASKA 
1924 
By 

CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 
320 No. 41st St., Omaha, Neb. 


THIS VOLUME 
OF 

BIOGRAPHY 
IS DEDICATED TO 
MY BELOVED SISTER 
ANGELINE SMITH CRANE 
WITH WHOM 
IT WAS PLANNED. 

















PIONEERS AND THEIR BIOGRAPHIES 


165 


Biographies 

‘' A well written life is almost as rare as a well spent one; 
and there are certainly more men whose history deserves to be 
recorded than persons able and willing and able to record it.’’ 
—Carlyle. 

The ancestors whose lives my sister recorded have many 
of them, like Brewster, Douglas and Griswold, made a place in 
the history of “this last great experiment in democracy,’’ 
America. 

Their place in history is secure and honorable. The Earl 
of Lincoln was instrumental in founding the Puritan colonies. 
His nephew, Nehemiah Smith, was in charge of part of his 
interests in Connecticut. 

The Earl of Warwick was the leader of the Puritans and 
sent his nephew, Wm. Hyde, to Connecticut. Kichard Bourne 
was their minister. The Earl of Warwick obtained a patent 
for the Pilgrims and the New England Company. 

“It is the custom to give all the credit to these stern New 
Englanders for all that is excellent in our institutions, but the 
Pilgrims could have done little without the assistance of the 
English statesmen. ’ ’—C. P. Adams. 

The Washingtons, Denisons and Gardiners were scions of 
strong English families, whose younger sons found in America 
the freedom granted their fathers in the Magna Charta. 

This freedom was gravely menaced by the Stuarts, James 
1 and Charles I. 

The progressive and talented young people of these fam¬ 
ilies intermarried with the descendents of the Pilgrims and 
produced the hardy stock which has made America s ideals and 
success. 

As the nation grew it became divided into pioneers who 
carried the banners of the progressive spirit of their day, 
whose compensation was in the doing of great deeds; and the 



166 


PIONEERS 


conservatives who remained in the places made tenable by 
their forefathers, and who inevitably acquired property, re¬ 
finement and culture. 

It is well known that there are more descendents of the 
Mayfiower in California than in Massachusetts. 

The best in every generation are pioneers. In so doing he 
foregoes many advantages which he loves less than the ideal 
of freedom which is the lure of every new country. 

In the history of the Smiths this spirit took Abram Smith, 
Jr., to Vermont from New York. It took his son, Jared Crane 
Smith, from Vermont to Northern New York and Canada. It 
took his son, John Keysar Smith, to Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, 
and last Nebraska. It took Jared Smith to Wyoming and 
Douglas Smith to Rushville and the Sand Hills. It took Thad- 
deus Smith to Oklahoma and Colorado. It took Jared Edwin 
Smith to Colorada, and Sidney and Arthur Smith to Idaho. 

After the spirit of the pioneers is satisfied these men settle 
down to become landholders and good citizens—the best of 
good citizens, those who keep out of the papers—which our 
mothers so often advised us to do. 

A family seldom acquires wealth in one generation and 
the frequent moves take a heavy toll in lives and wealth. But 
the thing which the Smith family had and always took with 
them in their quests was a love of all that was best—truth, 
honesty, law, family affection and books. 

As Wm. Brewster brought from England on the Mayflower 
250 books, so every generation of his descendents has gathered 
books and loved the best things of civilization. 

Wm. Brewster wrote in English and Latin, as well as 
read, and it is a well proved tradition that all of his descend¬ 
ents are ready writers and great students. He drafted the 
“Compact'’ on board the Mayflower and was the Colony’s 
moral and spiritual guide during its first years of peril, and 
would have been its governor but for the fact that he advised 
his company to keep separate the affairs of Church and State, 




PIONEERS 


167 


thus becoming the first apostle of both civil and religious 
liberty on this continent. 

He was of gentle birth and a trained scholar at Cam¬ 
bridge; Secretary to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Secretary 
of State, Wm. Davidson, and sent by him on an embassy to 
Holland. 

After his patron was deposed he built up the Mayflower 
church at Scrooby, where he was postmaster, as his father and 
grandfather had been, and left his position and fortune to be 
an exile in Holland and a Pilgrim in America. 

For thirty years his gifts were devoted constantly with¬ 
out pay to the people with whom he cast his lot, and his 
library was open to all. At his death it was inventoried at 
400 volumes. Among the four or five thousand of his de- 
scendents, there are Longfellow, President Taylor, Jonathan 
Edwards, and Emerson. There were ministers, lawyers, 
doctors, generals, and best of all, farmers. 

Is there a life more ideal than that of an educated and 
efficient farmer? Such men are the backbone of this country 
and my record is of this family of farmers and their descend- 
ents since the War of Independence, 1775-83. 



168 


BIOGRAPHY OP JARED AND CHARLOTTE SMITH 


Biogfraphy of Jared and Charlotte Smith. 

New London, on the Connecticut river, near where it 
flows into Long Island Sound, was in 1770 the headquarters of 
the British fleet in America. There were shipyards there and 
it was a stronghold of loyalty. 

In 1772, Wm. Douglas, whose mother’s people, the Deni- 
sons, were loyalists, and whose wife, Mary, was a granddaugh¬ 
ter of Solomon Coit, the ship builder, was Collector of the 
Port of New London. He was relieved of the office in that 
year that a British officer might take his place. 

During the war Wm. Douglas sent his older sons to fight 
for the Colonies, while his younger son, Ivory, remained to 
assist his father. Wm. Douglas was appointed Sept 29, 1777, 
by vote of the Town Meeting, to serve on a committee em¬ 
powered to “purchase 200 shirts, 100 frocks, 100 pr. overalls, 
200 pr. stockens and 100 pr. shoes for the soldiers in the 
Army.” These soldiers were from New London. 

Nathan Smith of Groton, Conn, just across the river, also 
served on a Committee of Inspection. He lost his eldest son, 
Col. Oliver Smith, in the war. His daughter, Phebe, married 
Ivory Douglas in 1784. 

In the unsettled period after the close of the Revolution a 
great emigration went from rich and populous Connecticut to 
Vermont. In 1789 Ivory and his brothers, Caleb and Daniel, 
with their families went to Chelsea, Orange County, Vermont, 
and established homes which are in good preservation at this 
time and owned by members of these Douglas families. 

Here at Chelsea, in 1791, Charlotte Douglas v/as born, 
fifth of the fourteen children. Charlotte was a handsome girl 
with dark blue eyes, bright blonde hair, and a vivacity which 
was one of her charms. She was slender and of medium 
height. 

When quite young she met Jared Crane Smith of Bolton, 
Chittenden County, on beautiful Lake Champlain. Jared 



BIOGRAPHY OF JARED AND CHARLOTTE SMITH 


169 


Crane Smith was the second son of Abram Smith who had gone 
to Vermont from North Salem, Westchester County, New York, 
in 1784. Abram Smith fought in the Revolution in the West¬ 
chester County Militia and afterwards in the same regiment 
with his father, Lieut. Abram Smith, who was first in the 5th 
Regiment of the Line of Westchester County and later served 
as Lieutenant in Col. Sam’l Drake’s regiment. He died in 1784. 

His son, Abram Smith, married Sara Crane, daughter of 
Col. Thaddeus Crane of North Salem, Mass., Nov. 19, 1778. 
Sara Crane’s two older brothers, Thaddeus and Jared, were 
killed in the war of 1776, and her mother died soon after from 
grief and anxiety. 

Sara mothered Col. Crane’s remaining children until he 
remarried. In 1778 Sara and Abram Smith, Jr., were united 
and removed to Vermont in 1784. 

Jared Crane Smith then was named for his mother’s play¬ 
mate and brother, who perished at the age of 17 in the war. 

Jared and his brother, Abram, had a farm at Richmond, 
three miles from Bolton, where Abram lived until 1869, but 
Jared left the farm in 1810 to go with his brother, John Keysar 
Smith, west to Wisconsin, to Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and other 
points. At Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, he met Charlotte Douglas 
of Chelsea, Vermont, whom he had known and loved in Ver¬ 
mont. Deacon Ivory Douglas, the father of Charlotte, ob¬ 
jected to the young man because the New York family of 
Smiths believed in cards and dancing, and other ungodly 
amusements. Charlotte had once gone to a dancing party with 
Jared Smith, and her sister, Sarah Jennings and her young 
husband. The dashing grandson of Col. Thaddeus Crane and 
the high-spirited little descendent of Pilgrim Wm. Brewster 
were much attracted to each other, but Deacon Douglas had 
other plans for his daughter. 

Previous to this time Charlotte had much desired to go 
west with some of her more venturesome relatives but had been 
needed at home. Now, however, her father consented to her 
trip to Lake Geneva, Wis., by way of the Great Lakes. She 



170 


JARED AND CHARLOTTE SMITH 


went with her brother and cousin, Columbus Douglas and his 
wife, to their new home at Fontana at the head waters of Lake 
Geneva. 

There at Fontana the Douglas family of Columbus and his 
brother founded a western family of Douglases who own 
Fontana today and are worthy descendents of their courageous 
parents. 

Wisconsin was the “Ultima Thule’’ of the United States 
in the year 1810. Of course there were trading posts in the 
newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. There was one hero at 
Fort Lisa, six miles north of Omaha, but the country 
deemed safe for women and children was far east of this 
region. 

The Douglasses made their wonderful journey through 
the green hills of Vermont, up Lake Champlain, thence to the 
St. Lawrence, down that river to Lake Erie, Ontario, and 
Michigan to Milwaukee, and thence to the beautiful lake of 
Geneva, which looked then an earthly paradise, as it does 
today. 

While the men went out to choose their land the women 
were left at a safe town, where a great stockade enclosed the 
sttlement. At night the wolves and bears prowled outside 
and raised their voices in a dismal chorus. There were two 
dogs, a little one who barked incessantly and scratched to get 
out at them, and a large dog which shinked under the bed and 
whimpered. This was rather funny, as the big dog was part of 
the guard of the families. 

Here came John Keysar Smith and his young wife, Kather¬ 
ine McDonald, and his brother, Jared Crane Smith. The young 
women occupied themselves with spinning and sewing while 
waiting for their husbands to find and build their future 
homes. After their spinning was done they went for walks, 
always inside the stockade, and it is related that Katherine 
(McDonald) Smith always finished her tasks first and went out 
for her view of the lake or to look longingly for her absent 
husband. 



JARED AND CHARLOTTE SMITH 


171 


When the men returned some had elected to remain at 
Milwaukee and buy grain, some to settle at Racine and Ken¬ 
osha. Columbus Douglas went to Fontana, at the head of 
Lake Geneva, The pioneers separated with regret, but even 
in those days many visits could be made, because life was 
hard but not very strenuous in our rushing way. 

The towns were all within a radius of twenty-five miles 
or so and we may be sure the young women contrived to visit 
and exchange recipes and patterns for baby clothes. Also, 
Charlotte and Jared Smith were married Nov. 15, 1811, in the 
home of Charlotte’s brother at Lake Geneva, Wis. After some 
consultation they decided to go back to Vermont for many 
things left there—property, linen, chest, and so on. 

On their way home they admired a beautiful spot on the 
St. Lawrence River, called Louisville, St. Lawrence County, 
and here they elected to settle after the home visit with 
Jared’s mother and family at Bolton, and Deacon Douglas and 
his wife and numerous family of fourteen children, at Chelsea. 

Charlotte’s sister, Sarah Jennings, sent her a little sewing 
table from Boston, which after a hundred and ten years I 
count a treasure in my home. I also have a nightcap from 
Charlotte’s trousseau of beautiful embroidery done by Char¬ 
lotte’s sweet mother, Phebe Smith Douglas. 

At Louisville, in 1812, the first child was born and chris¬ 
tened Lydia after Jared’s sister, who was with them at the 
time. 

Jared set up a small dairy and one day started to town 
to market his cheese. On the way he met an oifieer who told 
him the latest news of the War of 1812—news of burning in¬ 
terest to Jared, (son of the Abram Smith who fought in the 
Revolution beside his father, Lieut. Abram Smith, and his 
father’s friend, Col. Thaddeus Crane, whose daughter Sara be¬ 
came Abram’s wife and Jared Crane’s mother.) Living on 
the Border of Canada, the blood of patriots stirred within 
him at the thought of the untimely deaths of father and 
grandfather in behalf of these new United States of America. 



172 


JARED AND CHARLOTTE SMITH 


Now it was threatened, and every drop of blood cried 
out, to the rescue! 

‘^What do you need?’^ he asked the officer. “Horses, 
food, and men,” came the answer, “and now or never!” 

Jared looked at his dearly beloved horses, his load of 
cheese which had cost so much labor, and thought of his 
Charlotte and tiny baby at home. 

What to do? The blood of patriots conquered! 

“Here are my horses, my cheese, and,” with a final burst, 
“Ill go with you, too! This country must be saved!” 

Charlotte’s brothers were among the Vermont boys fight¬ 
ing, and she was brave enough to approve of her husband’s 
decision. So he kissed them goodbye and rode away. 

Charlotte spent no time grieving but began to knit a 
scarf and mittens and socks as soon as the crisp New York 
air reminded her that Jared might need them. Then she 
mounted her one remaining horse, took her baby on her arm, 
tied mittens, socks, and scarf behind the saddle, and rode fifty 
miles to where the Americans were encamped, near Saratoga. 

There she found her young husband safe and much in 
need of her warm woollens, as the northern New York air is 
very crisp, indeed, in October. 

Charlotte rode back next day and soon her husband joined 
her, as the emergency was past, and his corn and winter 
supplies must have needed looking after. 

The curious part of this story is that in 1871, sixty years 
later, the United States Government paid Charlotte Douglas 
for the horses and the cheese, with interest, and granted her 
a pension as the widow of Jared Smith. 

In 1891, Cousin Ellen Douglas Wilde of Chelsea, Vt., 
wrote us that the United States Government had finally settled 
for one of two ships owned by Josiah and Daniel Douglas, 
which were seized by the French in 1812. The French repaid 
the United States, and after seventy years the United States 
Govrnment paid the heirs of Josiah. Our share was not very 
much, as grandmother was one of fourteen children. 



JARED AND CHARLOTTE SMITH 


173 


Jared Crane Smith was a man of warm friendships and 
lively imagination. In my childhood I heard my grandmother 
Charlotte Smith, tell many stories about him. During the 
War of 1812, on a hot summer’s day, as the company trudged 
along wearily, Capt. Smith came to a little tavern where 
they thought they might get some wine. Capt. Smith said 
to his son, “I haven’t much money, but perhaps we can de¬ 
vise a scheme so we can all have a drink.” 

He went to the tavern and said, “How much will you 
charge for all the wine that my hat will hold?” 

The tavern keeper looked at the hat and said, “Fifty 
cents” thinking the hat would hold about two quarts. 

“Alright, fill her up," said Capt. Smith, “take a drink, 
boys!” 

The men drank eagerly till the cap was empty, but all 
had not drunk. “Pill it up again,” cried Capt. Smith. 

“Yes, but you’ve had all your hat can hold.” 

“Why, no,” said Captain Smith, with a look of surprise, 
“that hat has not had all it can hold. 'We bargained for all 
it could hold, didn’t we, boys?” 

“Yes!” came the answer from the boys. 

Despite the protests of the angry tavern keeper, he filled 
the hat till all had had a drink, thanks to the wit of the 
captain. 

They lived in Louisville for several years in peace and 
comfort, building up their homestead and raising their family. 

Here on the banks of the St. Lawrence could be seen the 
lieavily wooded shores of Canada. It was constantly borne 
in upon Jared that a fortune lay there to his hand. In 1825 
they removed to Williamsville, Canada, in Ontario. Here 
Jared carried on a lumbering and sawmill business till his 
death in 1843, at the age of 57. His death was no doubt 
caused by the death of his son, Angus, a fine youth of 16, 
drowned in the St. Lawrence River. 

After Jared Smith’s death, Charlotte, now 52 years of 
age, with her sons, John, Thaddeus, and Henry, and her daugh- 




174 


BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


ter, Charlotte (Lydia having died), went by the Great Lakes 
once more to the scene of her early and happy recollections, 
Lake Geneva, where some of her people lived. Here Thaddeus 

married Amanda - and made his home at Fon du Lac. 

He had one son, Angus, named for the brother who drowned, 
also perhaps for a cousin, Angus Smith, of Milwaukee, whose 
history as the owner of the great black elevators on the Lake 
Michigan front, was known to many up to the time of his 
death. 

Charlotte’s younger son, John, wished to settle in Ilinois, 
as the somewhat rocky soil of Lake Geneva did not appeal 

to him. 


Biography of John and Mary Smith 

So John and his mother came to Rockport, Ill., on the 
Mississippi river, near Quincy. Here he met Mary Ann Shearer 
in 1844. After an ardent courtship they became engaged, 
though John had a serious rival in Ransome Miller, one of 
three brothers of a Rockport family. John went back to Wis¬ 
consin in 1845, discouraged by the fever and ague and the flat 
Illinois prairies. 

Mary’s father urged that the engagement be broken as 
he probably would never return. So the young people sadly 
parted. 

After a year’s absence John received word from Mary 
that she was being urged to marry Ransome Miller in June. 

John hurried back to Rockport and pleaded his cause 
so well that Mary told Ransome Miller that though she might 
marry him she could never love him. He was man enough 
to yield. 

Mary and John were married June 11,1846, at her father’s 
home. They made their home in Rockport for three years till 
in 1849 when a company of young men left Rockport, Ill., for 



JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


175 


California, by the Overland route. It included my father and 
four of his friends. The train was 100 strong, horses and 
ox teams. 

Leaving the Mississippi country they set their faces west¬ 
ward. Their progress across Iowa and to St. Joseph was 
uneventful, but in Nebraska territory their troubles began. 

The stampedes of the buffaloes were feared as well as 
the hostile Indians. One day the train saw the dust of an 
approaching stampede with an immense bull in the lead. A 
man named Miller sighted his rifle for the buffalo’s head and 
grazed his forehead. The blood so blinded the buffalo that 
he turned and the herd followed him, saving the camp from 
destruction. They pursued and killed the blinded bull and 
rode back in triumph with the hindquarters for a feast. 

Most of the Indians were merely curious, and if given 
coffee and sugar would not molest the camp, but as they went 
further west the Indians grew more bold, until one day 
twenty-five Indian braves followed the train the whole day, 
and at night when the camp was made the wagons were 
drawn up in a circle with the stock inside. They feared a 
night attack as the Indians rode round and round, closing in 
little by little. 

The chief made menacing gestures, crying always, “Te- 
cup, te-cup!” Father thought he wanted sugar, so he offered 
some, only to have the cup dashed from his hand as the savage 
with a whoop rode across their circle brandishing his toma¬ 
hawk. 

Miller seized a club and whirled it round his head, mean¬ 
ing to strike if he came back, and the rest held their guns 
ready. 

The Indians rode off, yelling and whooping, and though 
the train stood guard all night they never came back. 

As the train drew near the mountains, grass and water 
became so scarce that the animals grew thin, and many fell 
by the road too weak to rise. These were used for meat, and 
the column toiled on painfully and slowly. The wagon my 



176 


JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


father owned was cut down to two wheels and the oxen had 
to be pushed up the steep mountain trails. When they reached 
the Divide the animals almost fell down the western slope, but 
the water and grass revived them as they grazed along through 
the Colorado parks, until the great desert again claimed all 
their store of strength. 

Finally, the men reached the hot Sacramento Valley thin 
and weak, but eager to try their fortunes. They found work 
at once through the winter, getting out timber supports for 
buildings, receiving the high wage of $4 per day. 

By spring they had money enough to engage in placer 
mining. They had to cross a great ravine on a fallen tree, to 
the gorge, where they washed the gold. Here they stayed and 
toiled for a year. They were subject to mountain fever and 
three of them died. One day father, in crossing the fallen 
tree, was so dizzy and weak that he had to get down on his 
hands and knees and creep over. 

This forced him to the conclusion that he had better 
leave the gold fields and go to San Francisco and start home 
if he ever expected to reach it alive. He took his gold dust 
and went the very next day on a horse-train going down 
to Frisco. 

Here he stopped only long enough to buy a wonderful 
silk shawl, a silken scarf and dress. Then he embarked on a 
boat sailing for the Isthmus. 

He fell ill at once with a terrible attack of typhus fever, 
through which the captain watched him tenderly and guarded 
his gold. 

They encountered terrific storms as they made their way 
down the coast, and my father was brought up on deck and 
lay with his belt of gold under his head. He watched the 
sharks following the ship and thought of all that he had 
risked to get the gold. 

He often said it was there that he decided that rather 
than become shark-food he would get well of the dreadful 
fever. He prayed earnestly to see his wife and home again. 



JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


177 


From that hour he grew better and when the boat anchored 
at San Juan, he staggered weakly ashore. They rode mules 
over the pass to the San Juan river, but father was still so 
weak that it was necessary to tie him on his mule, and the 
natives spoke pityingly of the “Pauvre hombre.” 

When they came to the river it was so full of rocks that 
the natives often leaped out to steer the boat in which they 
were crossing, regardless of the alligators which infested the 
waters. At last they reached the coast, and after waiting 
some days, went on board a vessel bound for New Orleans. 
This voyage was made in safety, and after a few days in New 
Orleans, father went on a Mississippi boat, which after a week 
of pleasant travel put him ashore at Rockport with his gold, 
his silks and his shattered constitution. 

We may imagine the joy with which his wife greeted him. 
After nearly two years in her father’s home, where her baby 
came six months after John’s departure and fell a victim to 
pneumonia; where her sisters often reminded her of her hus¬ 
band ’s probable death because no word came from him; where 
she was her father’s aid in the post office; where at last her 
husband was restored to her arms, and they mingled tears of 
joy and sorrow as each recounted the many hardships and 
sorrows of their absence from one another. 

The precious gold was invested in a farm and life was 
begun anew. 

How proudly Mary wore the magnificent embroidered 
Chinese shawl to her dying day! How proudly John beheld 
her in the silk dress of his choosing! 

Years followed of happy life together. On account of 
the malaria they left Rockport and settled in Appanoose 
County, Iowa, on a fine farm. Here Marietta was born in 
1853, and Jared Joel in 1855. 

In 1857, Charlotte Smith and her widowed daughter, 
Charlotte, with her two young daughters, followed them from 
Wisconsin. John was always his mother’s refuge in trouble 
and he opened his heart to her and his sister. 



178 


JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


But the added family led them to think of a place of 
more land and opportunities. So John and Mary came west 
to Florence, Neb., in the autumn of 1857, and took up a home¬ 
stead three miles northwest of Florence. This town was en¬ 
joying a boom after the departure of the Mormons and was 
anticipating the building of the Union Pacific bridge at Flor¬ 
ence, because the Missouri river has a rock bottom at that 
point. 

So John and Mary returned to Appanoose County, Iowa, 
sold their farm and came to Florence in the spring of 1858. 
They then built a small house on their pre-emption, three 
miles northwest of Florence, on the prairie. There is a fine 
view, from this elevation, of the Missouri river and the Iowa 
bluffs. 

John Smith planted the fields around the house with corn 
and sugar cane as a protection from prairie fires. 

This saved the lives of all, as in August, 1860, a terrible 
fire swept over the prairie. The smoke filled the air while the 
wind blew the awful heat ahead of the roaring flames. John 
hastily ploughed a furrow around the house while Mary 
packed food and valuables and with the baby in her arms ran 
for the tall sugar cane. Jared carried some biirden, while 
John Smith carried his sick mother out of the house and 
called to Marietta to bring her little brother Douglas by the 
hand. 

Marietta started, but half way to the corn field she 
thought of her most valuable possession—a new pink calico 
dress—which lay in the bureau drawer awaiting the needle. 

Dropping Douglas’ hand, she ran back to the smoke filled 
house, caught up the cherished dress and once more flew to 
the corn field amid a shower of sparks and the roar and heat 
of the onrushing fire. 

John, returning to liberate his stock, found the small 
Douglas bewildered and weeping, and took him into the shel¬ 
tering cane. 



JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


179 


The firse swept on, the house was saved by the ploughing, 
and the fire was checked by the green corn, but it had raged 
on every side of them. This terrifying experience caused 
John to sell this claim to Mr. Griffin and the family went to 
town to live. When John bought another farm he looked 
for sheltering timber and for water. These he found on the 
Wm. Amsbury farm, w^hich is the present family home. 

On account of schools father wdshed to reside in Florence, 
and he bought seventy-five lots as an investment and built a 
large house at the southwest corner of Florence Park. Here 
they set up a dairy, as prudence advised keeping their cattle 
w'hen they came west. 

Across the river, four miles north of Council Bluffs, were 
Mary Smith’s sister, Harriet Hewitt, and Mary’s father, Joel 
Shearer, and his three sons, George, James and Thomas. 

Joel Shearer died Oct. 8, 1859, leaving large tracts of land 
to his children. Of this family I will say here that they be¬ 
longed to that Shearer family of North Ireland, who, being 
strict Presbyterians, went to England to enjoy religious free¬ 
dom and thence in 1750 to America. Of these brothers, Wil¬ 
liam, James, George and Thomas, one settled in New York 
and married into a Dutch family there. His son fought in 
ihe Revolution, and his son, Joel Shearer, born Aug. 30, 1791, 
went from New York to Pennsylvania, Lycoming County, 
where he met his future wife, Phebe Blackwell, born 1799 at 
Blackwell Manor, England. He taught school in Lycoming 
County, and they w^ere married there Aug. 27, 1819. After 
tw^enty years Joel Shearer removed to Rockport, Ill., where 
his wdfe died Oct. 17, 1845. Here he w^as postmaster and 
storekeeper. He removed to Council Bluffs about 1855. 

In common with other members of the family of Shearers, 
he was temperate and never used a stimulant, or needed one. 

He w^as a great student and w^rote a Bible Commentary 
of great value. His influence may be traced in the desire for 
education and improvement seen in his descendents. 

His death was followed by that of his son, Thomas, and 
daughter, Maria Ilowdtt. George Shearer joined the Union 



180 


JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


Army, and James came to his sister Mary, at Florence, where 
he lived for many years. Harriet Hewitt was left a widow in 
1858, and Nov, 16, 1862, married Newton Gallup. They lived 
on her farm, four miles north of Council Bluffs, until her 
death in 1901. Her son, George Hewitt, is a resident of 
Woodbine, Iowa. Her daughter, Mary Gallup, born Sept. 1, 
1863, lived in Council Bluffs until 1907, married Julius Morgan 
Flagler, born in 1854 in New York at Tonawanda, married 
Sept. 1, 1886, at her father’s home. They have three sons: 
Roy Arthur, born Jan. 1, 1888; Ralph Barton, born Aug. 3, 
1896; George Blackwell, born Sept. 20, 1898. Roy lives in 
Boise, Idaho, and has two children, Helen and William. 

Ralph Flagler was enlisted in the World War, Sept., 1917. 
and was discharged April 1, 1919. He lives at Morrison, Ill. 
He is engaged in expert dairy work, in which he specialized 
at Wisconsin University, from where he graduated. He 
married May 31, 1923, Christine Neilson. 

George enlisted Dec. 1, 1918, and was sent to England. He 
was in the air service. After the war George went to work 
in the iron mills of Pueblo, Colorado, where he held a high 
position. He is now at Gary, Ind. 

Harriet Shearer Gallup’s son, Edward Gallup, was born 
Jan. 23, 1874, and resides at Cushing, Neb. He married Nora 
Woolman, Feb., 1903. Their children were: George, born 
1904: Mary, born 1906; and Nora, born 1910. 

No story of the family of John and ]\Iary Smith would 
be complete without mention of these cousins at Council Bluffs. 
In winter they crossed on the ice in sleds to visit each other, 
and in summer, the Fourth of July, and on other occasions, 
were made the time for gatherings. 

Mary Gallup Flagler was well educated and still takes 
great interest in her music. Slie taught lip-reading in th(i 
Iowa School for the Deaf. She now resides in Colorado 
Springs, Colo. 

The life in Florence was full of thrills. They lived in 
constant fear of the Indians. At this time Charlotte Smith be- 



JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


181 


came very ill and during her illness the Indians were seen 
peeping over the hills, and their skulking about was an indi¬ 
cation that they were ready for a massacre. 

Our family hastily packed their valuables and put two 
feather beds on the back of a horse. They were to go into 
the willows, north of Florence, and waited all day until the 
troop from Fort Atkinson (now Calhoun) had driven the 
Indians away. 

At the beginning of the Civil War this garrison was re¬ 
duced and it fell to the men of the town to organize against 
the Indians. Father organized a company, called the Florence 
Rides, who did good work protecting the town and farms 
about. The Indians were removed to the Omaha Reservation 
by Ihe Government at this time. 

But the Indians of Dakota went on the war path, so in 
1862 the Government sent regular troops to Florence. They 
were joined by Captain Smith, who had a Commission as Cap¬ 
tain, signed by Governor Saunders of Nebraska Territory. 
As the fjuota of Government officers was full, John Smith was 
offered the position of Commissary Sergeant in the organ¬ 
ization. He accepted this and they left Florence in August, 
1862, and marched to the protection of the Dakota border. 

John Smith was 45 years of age and the hardships of this 
campaign weakened him greatly. He was never strong the 
remaining twelve years of his life. 

During his absence Harriet Ruth was born, March 23, 1863. 

As it became certain that the bridge would be built at 
Omaha after Capt. Mitchell of Florence cast the deciding 
vote, property values declined in Florence and the outlook 
became very dark. These were the hardest days of Mary 
Smith’s life. 

For instance, Jared and Douglas got on a log one day and 
were carried down the river for a long distance before some 
large boys rescued them. They salvaged sugar cane from 
Jacob Weber’s fields and fought with the Lonergan boys. 
Marietta, Avhen set to wheel the baby Harriet, hid the baby 



JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


182 

in the tall weeds and ran on to play with the other children. 
Mary heard the baby^s frightened screaming, while churning, 
and rescued her. The family smoke house was the scene of 
many needed chastisements after the children’s escapades. 

The added burden of the dairy work fell on Mary’s shoul¬ 
ders, but she was an optimist, an earnest Christian, and above 
all a woman of strong common sense, and she carried her 
family through these troubled days and never relaxed her 
discipline for one moment. 

In 1863, when John returned, he sold his house. His 
seventy-five lots brought $75 and he removed to the farm 
which he had purchased for $1,000. There were ten acres 
broken and it was three miles northwest of Florence on the 
Calhoun high road. Here he had a five-room hewn-log house 
and a barn and took the cattle and oxen to this new home, 
which his wife and five children shared with his mother, and 
sister Charlotte and her two daughters. 

His assistants in farm work and building were James 
Shearer and Marion Tristler. There was a cold spring near 
and abundant timber for building and fuel. This home was 
called “Valley Rest,” and here were spent the happiest years 
of their lives. 

They planted an orchard, many of whose trees are still 
bearing after sixty years. John’s sister, Charlotte, married 
Wm. Amsbury, who lived on Ihe farm south. Her daughter, 
Angeline, married his son, Wm. Amsbury. They live at Grand 
Island, where he is a presiding Elder. They have two sons. 

Grandmother Smith recovered her health so that she 
could go horseback riding again and was always a peacemaker 
and entertainer in family life. In 1870 John Smith built the 
house now standing at “Valley Rest,” a house of ten rooms 
and a cemented cellar, the first in that country. 

He planted pine trees and shrubs and vines from Illinois, 
many of them sent to them by Phebe Shearer, Mary’s sister, 
who remained in Rushville, Ill., till her death in 1898. 

Here was born, April 6, 1866, Cora Phebe (the writer of 




JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


183 


these memoirs), to a mother, aged 41, and a father, aged 48, 
Marietta named the new baby out of Cooper’s book, “The 
Last of the Mohicans,” and she bore the name Cora unwilling¬ 
ly through life. 

Several prosperous years followed and in 1870 John and 
Mary built the home which has been the family center since. 
The money troubles of the nation—war debts and demonetiza¬ 
tion—led to the panic of 1871. This was very serious to the 
builders of the west, and to add to their anxieties, in August 
came the grasshoppers. They came in clouds, high in the air 
and so thick that they obscured the sun. They came between 
4 and 6 o’clock and lit and ate corn, watermelons, grass, 
trees, and every green thing. Myriads went over, but the 
army that stayed ate all night. They were so thick the en¬ 
gines could not get up the railroad grades, but horses could 
wade through them. 

In the morning the crowd of grasshoppers lifted and went 
on. That afternoon another swarm came. They stayed till 
frost and left their eggs. Next spring the winter wheat and 
oats grew before they came. The corn had just started when, 
with the first hot weather in June, the grasshoppers hatched 
out. These had no wings and ate a 20-acre wheat field from 
the outside to center. When they grew wings and went on 
the last of June, but five acres of wheat remained. 

John replanted corn after they left, and had a fair crop. 

The Amsbury family left soon after this for Colorado. 
Father had a horse 'svhich Nelson Amsbury desired, as his 
brother Webster drove a fine black team. So Nelson traded 
the 32 acres (now owned by Jared) to Father for this horse, 
which was blind in one eye, but otherwise nice looking. 

John was much respected by his neighbors and was school 
director till his death. John and Mary were both members of 
the MethodivSt Episcopal church. 

John Keysar Smith took his place in neighborhood affairs, 
showing good judgment and those qualities of leadership he 
displayed ^vherever he lived. He was a Republican leader and 



184 


JOHN AND JVIARY SMITH 


was mentioned as candidate for State Senator. The Omaha 
men wanted Phineas Hitchcock, and rather than see his party 
split, John Smith arose and withdrew in favor of Mr. Hitch¬ 
cock, who was elected. 

His home was headquarters for ministers and teachers, 
and his many friends, one of whom was General Estabrook, 
an early friend in Lake Geneva; another, Joel Griffen, post¬ 
master in Omaha. 

In these happy circumstances he fell ill in April, 1875, of 
typhoid pneumonia, and died May 5, 1875, mourned by his 
wife and aged mother, his brother, Hemy Douglas Smith, of 
Lake Geneva, Wis., and seven children: Marietta, Jared, 
Douglas, Thaddeus, Harriet, Cora, and Angeline. He lies in 
Prospect Hill cemetery, Omaha, Neb. Gut off in his prime, 
his life remains an inspiration to his children. 

Mary Smith was left at the age of 51 with this family to 
raise and support, with a farm of 165 acres. When Angie, 
the youngest, reached the age of 18, the farm was deeded to 
Mary for her life. She sent every one of these children 
through school and sent every one to some other school or 
college later. 

She managed the farm with great care and good judg¬ 
ment. It steadily increased in value and was in a good state 
of improvement when her failing health caused her to remove 
to 2201 Emmett St., Omaha, in 1890, where she lived until her 
death from diphtheria. May 1, 1893. She is buried beside her 
husband in Prospect Hill cemetery. 

Her Will left the property equally among the children, 
except that Harriet received $700 and all personal property 
for remaining with her mother. 

A chapter could be written about the children mother 
adopted. Father and mother lost their first three children, 
Alonzo, Alma, and Azro, and despaired of raising a child. 
In 1852 they took a two-year-old boy, Marion Tristler, whose 
parents died within a few weeks of each other. There were 
seven children and mother gave a home to Elizabeth, an older 
sister, also. Two other sisters, Martha Chapman and Sarah 



JOHN AND MARY SMITH^ 

Russell, were married from my father’s house in Florence, 
as the family followed father west. 

Elizabeth married George Peck and left a daughter, Au¬ 
gusta, born 1865, married Wm. Nash, 1883, and lives at Glen¬ 
dale, Cal. 

Marion grew up to fight in the Rebellion and lived at 
Calhoun. Tn 1853 Marietta was born, and Jared in 1855. 

In 1857, when Charlotte Diffin and her daughter came to 
father’s house, they wished to earn their way in town, but my 
father said a woman’s place was in the home, and took care 
of them till their marriages in 1860, at Florence. 

My father also made a home for Richard O’Neill, who 
was in need of friends. This man worked faithfully for our 
family from 1870 till his death in 1915. He was patient and 
industrious. 

Tn 1882 mother took under her roof an orphan, Minnie 
Boudre, who also was grateful for a home and repaid mother 
for her care. I speak of these orphans’ adoption because it 
gives the keynote to my parents’ character—compassionate, 
kind and far-sighted. 

Father was enabled to farm and build because of Marion 
Tristler ’s help. Mother was helped by Elizabeth Tristler to 
raise her own large family. Richard O’Neill was a steady 
worker and his labor in the garden and at the wood pile 
allowed Jared, Douglas, and Thaddeus, time to finish their 
studies. 

Father received a pension from the Government. This 
pension was discontinued at his death. Mother made many 
trips to Omaha, the county seat, to look after this business, 
on one of which my mother’s buggy was overturned by a 
drunken driver whom they met, and her arm broken. 

But her perseverance was rewarded in 1889, and the 
Government paid the back pension in full and continued the 
monthly pension through her lifetime. 

Mention should be made of the great executive ability of 
Mary Smith. Possessed of ordinary strength, she planned her 



186 


JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


work so well and with such detail that the results were won¬ 
derful. As a result of her methodical division of the day into 
the labors of repair, construction and diversion, there was 
never any confusion. 

Her meals were on time, and after a little noon day nap 
her lace cap and afternoon dress were donned and her sewing 
begun. She was a good seamstress and left each daughter a 
quilt of 1000 to 1600 pieces. 

She was a valued member of Plymouth Congregational 
church in Omaha at this time, and left them money for the 
pulpit Bible in her Will. 

Children of Jared Crane and Charlotte Douglas Smith 

Married Nov. 15, 1811, at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. 

Lydia\ b. Aug., 1812; d. young. 

Thaddeus^ C., b. 1815 at Louisville, X. Y.; m. Amanda 
-; d, 1871, at Fon du Lac, Wis. Son: Angue, no issue. 

John^ K., b. Feb. 15, 1818, at Louisville, N. Y.; m. Mary 
Shearer, June 11, 1846; d. May 5, 1875, Florence, Neb.; 10 
children. 

Henry'^ Douglas, b. 1825, Louisville, N. Y.; m. Eliza Stan¬ 
ley; d. 1904, Lake Geneva, Wis. Sons: William II., b. 1853; 
Edwin, b. 1863; no issue. 

Charlotte^ b. 1820, Bomansville, Canada; m. (1) John 
Dilfin, (2) Wm. Amsberry, 1860; d. 1865. Children: Angeline, 
ra. Wm. Amsbury, lives at Grand Island, Neb.; two sons; Laura, 
no record; infant, d. young. 

Angus'* Cero, b. 1827; d. by drowning in the St. Law¬ 
rence River, 1843. 


Children of John K. and Mary Shearer Smith 

John Keysar Smith, b. Feb. 15, 1818, Louisville, N. Y.; 
d. May 5, 1875, Valley Rest, Neb.; m. Mary Ann Shearer, b, 
March 12, 1825, in Lycoming County, Pa., at Rockport, Ill., 
June 11, 1846; d. May 1, 1893. Children: 




CHILDREN OF JOHN AND MARY SMITH 


187 


Azro, b. April 16, 1847; d. young. 

Alma, b. Dec. 10, 1849; d. young. 

Alonzo, b. Aug. 7, 1851; d. young. 

Marietta, b. Jan. 4, 1853, Davis County, Iowa; d. Aug. 
29, 1921, Omaha, Neb.; m. Henry W. Young, Oct. 30, 1881. 

Jared Joel, b. Aug. 12, 1855, Davis County, Iowa; m. (1) 
Carrie Octa Patrick, April 23, 1878; d. eluly 11, 1882; (2) 
Priscilla Avery Ward, June 16, 1891, David City, Neb. 

Perry Douglas, b. Feb. 15, 1858, Davis County, Iowa; m. 
Nov. 1, 1882, Florence, Neb., Emeline Weber. 

Thaddeus Royal, b. April 22, 1860, Florence, Neb.; m. 
April, 1887, at her home to Carrie Daniels of Council Bluffs. 

Harriet Ruth, b. March 23, 1863, at Florence, Neb.; d. 
Oct. 29, 1912, at Happy Valley, near Whitman, Neb.; m. July 
25, 1908, Jesse C. Crossley. 

Cora Phebe, b. April 6, 1866, at Valley Rest; m. June 21, 
1886, at Valley Rest, Charles Henry Mullin of West Point, Neb. 

Angeline Leonora, b. Feb. 23, 1869, at Valley Rest; d. 
May 13, 1923, at Lincoln, Neb.; m. (1) Oct. 25, 1888, Benjamin 
E. Pickering, d. June 6, 1916; (2) March, 1918, George F. 
Crane. 

References—Jared Crane Smith, Douglas Genealogy, 
Family Bible, Pension Records of 1812. 

John Keysar Smith, Douglas Genealogy, Family 
Bible, Prospect Hill Cemetery Gravestones, U. S. Pension 
Records, Douglas County Records. 


Biography of Marietta Smith Young 

Marietta Smith was born in Davis County, Iowa, Jan. 4, 
1853. She was the second daughter and fourth child of John 
K. and Mary Smith, the first child to outlive infancy. 

She was her father’s favorite and he guided her to seek 
the best of everything. She was eleven when her parents went 



188 


MARIETTA SMITH YOUNG 


to Valley Rest to live. She missed her friends in Florence, 
where she had lived for seven years, and never was very fond 
of the country. 

One day, while on her way to town for a music lesson, 
the horse she was riding ran under an oak tree and her long 
hair caught in the branches. The horse went on and left her 
hanging. Luckily a passerby rescued her, but she always 
laughingly declared that this experience cooled her enthusiasm 
for the study of music. 

She always loved culture and refinement, however, and 
made it her own and brought it home to her younger brothers 
and sisters. 

The children of pioneers pay a high price in the finer 
amenities of life for the very land and opportunity for which 
their parents left their New England home, and came to the 
West to obtain for these children. 

As a girl she scorned the rustic swains who admired her. 
No one but the well educated and well born attracted her. 

At the Omaha Methodist Sabbath school, which she at¬ 
tended, she met ambitious young people who were her friends 
all through her life. ‘"Valley Rest’’ was the scene of many 
pleasant parties at the new house, which Marietta helped to 
plan. She drew her friends to her like a magnet, and happy 
indeed were her girlhood days, and the Smith hospitality 
became a tradition. 

The happy comradeshipe of John Smith and his winsome 
little daughter was broken by his untimely death in May, 1875. 
Then followed sober days for Marietta and her brothers and 
sisters. Rigid economy and self-denial ensued for a few years 
until the success of the boys in business made life easier at 
“Valley Rest.” 

Marietta learned from her mother to be a very good 
housekeeper, a dainty cook and an exquisite needlewoman. 
She was of medium height, always slender, with a most ex¬ 
pressive face. 

October 30th, 1881, at “Valley Rest,” Marietta married 
Henry Weston Young of Cambridge, Mass., son of CapL 



MARIETTA SMITH YOUNG 


189 


Henry Weston and Eliza Young. They made their home in 
Sioux City, Iowa, until 1892, when they came to Omaha to 
live. Their home was always beautiful and both were witty 
and entertaining. 

When she became a widow in 1896, Marietta maintained 
her own apartment and clung to her independence. She 
added to her small income by the use of her skill as a needle¬ 
woman and all the members of the family and her many 
friends will long remember her lovely gifts and the pretty 
dresses and lingerie which she made so lovingly and so daintily 
for them. 

She had no children, but took great interest in her 
nephews and nieces. She was a guide and an inspiration to 
all of them. Her family called her the Christmas Lady of 
Valley Rest because of the enjoyment she derived from making 
gifts for everyone she knew at that holiday time. She never 
forgot a birthday or let Christmas go by without a remem¬ 
brance, and she never lost a friend. 

She was noted for her keen wit and her great good sense, 
as well as for her exquisite daintiness. No gathering which 
she attended but what was made merry by her little quips 
and bright comments. She had that rare gift of personality 
which enabled her to tell an ordinary incident humorously, 
and it was this gift of entertainment that endeared her to 
friends and relatives alike. Every situation had its droll side 
to her. 

Marietta enjoyed the best literature and music and the 
best of everything, and in fact quite scorned to read what she 
called “trash” or to listen to cheap music or shows. Her 
best remembered remark was, “I try to remember that I am 
a lady! ’ ’ This remark was the source of many a laugh among 
her nieces, but the meaning left its mark upon their memories. 

Each of her brothers and sisters asked her to share their 
homes, but she loved her own little home and her own pos¬ 
sessions, and clung to them. In 1919 Marietta suffered a 
severe attack of influenza, from which she never quite re- 



IDO 


MARIETTA SMITH YOUNG 


covered. For the first time her elastic tread was slowed and 
her nerves began to break. 

She enjoyed her church life to the last and was warmly 
interested in the building of the First Central Congregational 
church. 

She spent her summers in Sioux City with friends, one 
at Portland and many in Lincoln with her sister Angie. 

In August, 1921, after a month with Angie at Lincoln, 
Marietta returned home very feeble, and Aug. 29, 1921, her 
brave soul returned to that Great One who giveth His be¬ 
loved sleep. 

Ref.—Douglas County Records, Family Bible, Pros¬ 
pect Hill Cemetery Monument. 


Biography of Jared Joel Smith 

Jared Joel Smith was born Aug. 10, 1855, at Centerville, 
Iowa, third son of John K. and Mary A. Smith. He moved 
with his parents to Florence, Neb., (Territory in 1858). lie 
attended the district school until he reached the Eighth grade, 
which was completed at Omaha Central school under Pro¬ 
fessor Snow. 

He was advanced to the Omaha High school and later 
attended the State University under Chancellor Benton. He 
taught school two years; the second year he was principal of 
the Saratoga school at 24th street and Ames avenue. It was 
here that he made the acquaintance of Carrie Octa Patrick, 
daughter of Capt. Edwin and Octa Goodwill Patrick, to 
Avhom he was married at the Patrick residence, April 23rd, 
1878. In 1879 Jared received an appointment as Indian Trader 
at the Omaha and Winnebago Agency in Nebraska. It was 
here the first child, Kittie May, was born. 

After his license expired as trader he moved to Blair, 
Neb., and with his brother. Perry D. Smith, entered into the 
general merchandise business under the firm name of J, J. 



JARED JOEL SMITH 


191 


Smith and Bro. After a few years he bought out his brother’s 
interest and continued the business until after the death of 
his beloved wife, who passed away July 10, 1886, leaving three 
children: Kittie May, Leonora Octa, and Jared Edwin, the 
last two born while the family resided in Blair. Leonora Octa 
was born on the farm in Douglas county. 

After the loss of his wife he sold out and went to Wyoming 
and roughed it for two years. Upon his return to Omaha in 
1888 he secured a position as traveling salesman for the Omaha 
Coffee Company. This line he followed until 1896, when the 
concern had a disastrous fire which destroyed the business. 
“J. J.”, as he was familiarly called, immediately organized 
the “On Time Yeast Company.” He was elected treasurer 
and general manager of the company. This concern continued 
to prosper until it was absorbed by the yeast trust in 1907. 

He was elected and served four years on the Omaha 
Board of Education, 1901-1904. 

June 16, 1891, he married Priscilla A. Ward, daughter of 
Lysander and Priscilla (Avery) Ward, in David City, Neb. 
To Jared and Priscilla were born twins, Oct. 22, 1894. The 
baby girl did not survive after birth; the boy. Ward Keysar 
Smith, lived to be a strong man. 

Jared joined the Masonic lodge in Blair, Neb., in 
1884. He later demitted to Nebraska Lodge No. 1, where he 
remained a member in good standing during his life time. He 
joined Bellevue Chapter, Mount Calvary Commandery, Tan¬ 
gier Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. 

In 1900, he became interested in fruit growing, having 
previously purchased 31 acres of land without improvements, 
lie began planting fruit trees, so that when he moved to the 
farm, there had been planted considerable fruit of different 
kinds. 

With the help of his faithful wife and son Ward, the 
place prospered. Improvements were made from time to time 
until the home became very comfortable and modern. The 
income from the land rose from its rental value of $90 per 



192 


JARED JOEL SMITH 


annum to a net sum sufficient for the support of himself and 
family in comfort. 

Jared Joel Smith. 

These notes of Jared Joel Smith’s life are so concise, in¬ 
forming and modest, that I think they should stand as he 
wrote them. They are a better indication of his character 
than his most careful biographer could hope to copy. 

They are the story of one gifted by nature, honored by 
men and loved by his family. They are the story of one who 
wrested success from every adverse circumstance. 

With his brilliant but judicial mind he would have won 
fame as a lawyer or statesman, but the death of his father in 
1875 left his eldest son a certain responsibility to his widowed 
mother. At Nebraska University that year he Avas chosen 
Valedictorian for his logic and eloquence. But Jared cheer¬ 
fully gave up his law studies at the University and applied 
himself to teaching school. He was Principal of the Saratoga 
school at the age of twenty-one. Then he Avas Cashier of J. J. 
Brown’s large wholesale store at twenty-two. 

He asked for the position of Indian Trader that year. 
His youth was against his appointment but w^hen he made 
the journey to Washington, D. C., to urge his case, his fitness 
for the place was apparent and he came back a licensed United 
States Government Trader. He Avas stationed at the Omaha 
and Winnebago agencies and Avas known as a “good trader” 
because of his fairness. 

On his arrival at the Indian agenc}^ he Avas shoAvii to a 
bed in a large store building, Avhich had a door opened by a 
thumb latch. He made up a good fire, as it was a cold, snoAvy 
night, and he was getting ready for bed when the latch was 
pulled by a fierce looking Indian, who stood in the door and 
grunted, “Umph! No Inglis!” and drew up to the fire. 

He made signs to show his fatigue and cold and a desire 
to stay all night. Jared piled some buffalo robes in a corner 
for him and the Indian grunted and lay doAvn to sleep. 



JARED JOEL SMITH 


193 


Not so fortunate was Jared, for soon a dreadful smell 
filled the air to mix with the kerosene and tobacco. The 
horrible stifling odor was located at last. The Indian brave’s 
cap of skunk-fur had warmed up by the fire so Jared took a 
stick, and picking it up, cautiously put the smelly thing out¬ 
side the door. 

He did not forget to wake up early and bring in the cap. 
He smiled at the stories he had read of Indians’ watchfulness, 
for poor Lo never moved through it all. 

The Sioux Indians went on the war path in 1878 and the 
Custer massacre at Wounded Knee spread terror through the 
borders. At Rosebud there was no money in the country. The 
United States Government was trying to keep the Sioux on the 
Reservation and issue them money for their living. The rail¬ 
road stopped at Norfolk, Neb. The Omaha Indians hauled 
supplies for $1 a hundred pounds. The Indian Traders there 
got their checks and cheated them. 

Major Pollock and Jared brought a trunkful of money 
from Sioux City through Yankton to Rosebud Landing, in 
Dakota. He brought $20,000 in an old trunk, covered by 
blankets and feedbags. 

They drove 50 miles the first day and stopped at Keya 
Paha at night. The week before a notorious horse thief, 
named '‘Doc.” Middleton, had robbed the Indians, so Major 
Pollack and Jared took turns watching that night, each sitting 
up half the night, but they were not disturbed. 

Next day they drove through to Rosebud Agency. They 
paid the Sioux Indians in cash. In a few days the traders 
had it all and begged Major Pollock to take it out to the 
bank at Sioux City, but he refused. “Never again!” he said. 

On the return trip the road was through a narrow pass 
between high buttes. They were on the lookout for hostile 
Indians, for although they did not take the money they feared 
for their owm safety—and sure enough, they saw gun-stocks 
sticking up near the entrance. They cautiously approached 
the butte and were overjoyed to find that the guns belonged 
to some Omaha Indian freighters who were stalled. Major 



194 


JARBD JOEL SMITH 


Pollock helped them out and had a good escort for the rest 
of the way home. 

The next year Jared and his wife, Carrie, went up to 
Rosebud Landing to the Sioux freight house with Judge 
Hunger. The United States Government had pei*suaded some 
of the Sioux to haul freight. One of these murderous look¬ 
ing freighters observed Carrie’s small 22-caliber revolver. The 
big buck looked at his own 44, grunted, and said, ‘‘What for 
gun? I let you shoot me five times, little gun; me shoot you 
one time my gun.” 

Not wishing any demonstration of his marksmanship, 
Carrie hastily sought Jared and Judge Hunger and remained 
with them until they left Rosebud. 

Their life on the Indian Reservation was full of thrills. 
During their stay there they witnessed many Indian dances 
and other interesting phases of Indian life. Jared became 
known as a fair trader and thus helped to establish more 
friendly relations with the Sioux who had been cheated so 
often. He finished four very successful years as Indian Trader. 

In Hay, 1882, Jared removed to Blair, Neb. Here he 
built a store and stocked it and carried on a general mer¬ 
chandise business. He bought a home and was speedily rec¬ 
ognized as a valuable citizen. He was on the City Council 
before he had resided there six months, and was asked to be 
mayor when but 29 years of age. 

His plans were all frustrated by the death of his wife, 
July 11, 1886. 

His three children were taken to Omaha by his wife’s 
mother, Octa Goodwill Patrick, as she was the only person 
fitted to take care of them. Jay was but 18 months old. 

The desire to be with his children caused Jared to sell 
his home and business and come to Omaha to live at Hrs. 
Patrick’s. 

He traveled for the Omaha Coffee Co. for several years, 
owning some of the stock. At Hrs. Patrick’s home he met 



JARED JOEL SMITH 


19,5 


Priscilla Avery Ward, who taught school in the Saratoga 
school. 

In 1891 they were married at the home of Priscilla’s par¬ 
ents, Lysander and Priscilla Avery Ward, at David City, Neb. 
To this wedding journeyed Mrs. Patrick and Jared’s mother, 
both sincerely glad to see Jared find a woman so eminently 
fitted to be a perfect wife and mother to his three children. 

Jared and Priscilla lived at 2201 Spencer street with 
Jared’s mother, and sister Ruth, until his mother’s death in 
1893. 

That was the year of the great panic and men in every 
business were affected by the great depression. Banks failed, 
long established firms went into bankruptcy and prices were 
low, but no one had money to buy goods. In 1894 the hot 
winds burned up most of the crops and made things worse. 
One night a fire destroyed the stock and building of the 
Omaha Coffee Co. The loss was so great the firm discon¬ 
tinued business. Jared took as his share the yeast business, 
which he carried on at the factory near his home at 2808 
Ames avenue. 

Jared, aided by his wife in every way, made a great suc¬ 
cess of the On Time Yeast Co. He educated his children in 
music and high school. He platted the property left them by 
their mother, paying out large sums for taxes, grading, sewer, 
water and gas for the thirty lots. 

He was elected to the Board of Education of Omaha and 
filled this post with great efficiency. 

He is an elder and trustee in Plymouth Congregational 
church, where Priscilla has been President of the Ladies’ 
Association. 

In 1908 the Yeast Trust bought out the On Time Yeast 
Co. after Jared had made a great success of it. After the 
sale he removed from their home to his farm, which he had 
been planting to apples and grapes for fifteen years. Several 
years followed of frost, crop failure and blight. 



196 


JARED JOEL SMITH 


Jared studied methods of spraying, trimming and every 
new discovery of horticulture until he has made fruit raising 
a great success. 

He was encouraged by his devoted wife Priscilla, whose 
wholehearted cooperation was a daily inspiration to fresh ef¬ 
forts. Priscilla was born and educated in Illinois. 

She combines the sweetness and tact of the Illinois women 
with the good sense and industry of her Connecticut forbears. 
Everyone who knows her loves her. She is a worthy de¬ 
scend ent of that Jonathan Avery who said, “Write nothing 
on my tomb but this, ‘He was a soldier of the Revolution.’ ” 

Priscilla is indomitable. Neither ill health nor obstacles 
have ever made her complain. With her help Jared prospered 
exceedingly. He built a modern home, set in Priscilla’s lovely 
garden. He became noted as an expert in fruit raising. 

His articles are in demand by farm magazines and his 
talks on horticulture are much sought after at fruit raisers’ 
conventions. He has, beside, made his own market. 

His apples are so perfect that people drive out after them, 
saving much trouble in moving the crop. 

The great loss which came to him in the death of his son 
Ward, Nov. 6, 1922, was borne with patience and fortitude. 

So greatly are he and his wife esteemed that friends all 
over the country come to sympathize and sent to console. 

Jared’s son, Jared, Jr., came from his ranch at Branson, 
Colo., to help his father in his business. He and his wife 
Elizabeth are aid and companions to Jared and his noble wife. 

‘ This is the story of one gifted by nature; honored by 
men, and loved by his family. This is the story of one who 
wrested success from every adverse circumstance.” 

The world is better for his living in it. 

C. P. M. 

Children of Jared Joel Smith 

Children of Jared J. and Carrie Octa Patrick Smith, died 
July 11, 1886, at Blair; married April 23, 1878, at Omaha, 
Nebr.: 



197 


KITTIE MAY SMITH BATES 

Kittie May, b. July 11, 1880, at Omaha Agency, Neb. 
Leonora Octa, b. March 23, 1882, at Valley Rest, Florence, 
Neb. 

Jared Edwin, b. Jan. 15, 1885, at Blair, Neb. 

Children of Jared J. and Priscilla Avery Ward, married 
dune 16, 1891, at David City, Neb.; 

Infant daughter, b. Oct. 22, 1894; did not survive. 

Ward Keysar, b. Oct. 22, 1894; d. Nov. 6, 1922. 

Ref.—Douglas Genealogy, Family Bible, Records of 
Indian Bureau, Douglas County Records, Records of City 
of Omaha. 


Kittie May Smith Bates 

Kittie May, first child of Carrie Patrick and Jared J. 
Smith, was born July 11, 1880, at Omaha Agency in Nebraska. 

She was a very lovely child, sweet and winning. She 
lived in Blair with her parents until 1886. After her mother’s 
death the family removed to Mrs. Patrick’s home at Omaha. 
Here Kittie went to school and studied music. 

Later, at the family home on Ames avenue, in Omaha, she 
became an accomplished musician. She attended high school 
with Leonora and later spent several months in Rochester, 
N. Y., with her grandmother Patrick and her aunt, Mrs. Glass. 

Through her grandmother, Octa Goodwill Patrick, Kittie 
traces her Revolutionary ancestry through Backus and Good¬ 
will lines. 

Following her visit she studied stenography and became 
very proficient. 

June 29, 1909, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, she married Thomas 
Barnett Bates of Plattsmouth, Neb. He is the son of Colonel 
and Senator Milford A. and Virginia Barnett Bates of Platts¬ 
mouth, Neb. He was born March 31, 1866, at Centerville, Ill. 

Colonel Bates and his sons, Robert and Thomas, publish 
and edit the Plattsmouth Journal. 





198 


LEONORA OGTA SxMITH-PRENCH 


Robert and Martha Ruppley Bates were married the same 
day at Council Bluffs and the brothers live near each other. 

Kittie was admitted to St. Luke’s Episcopal church in 
Plattsmouth in 1919, Bishop Shayler officiating. She acted 
as secretary of St. Mary’s Guild of St. Luke’s church for 
seven years, from 1916 to 1923. 

She is a member of Fontenelle Chapter, Daughters of the 
Revolution, in Plattsmouth. She is a historian and in 1923 
wrote a paper on “Pioneers,” which is a part of the library 
of the State Society of the D. A. R., and among the Washing¬ 
ton Records of the Revolution at Washington, D. C. 


Leonora Octa Smith French 

Leonora Octa Smith, second daughter of Jared Joel and 
Carrie Octa Patrick Smith, was born March 23, 1882, at Valley 
Rest, near Florence, Neb., where her parents were staying 
while changing their home to Blair. 

Leonora, or “Nona,” as she was called, was a very sturdy 
child and was always able to keep up with her sister Kittie 
in school. They attended Saratoga and Lothrop schools in 
Omaha and later Omaha Central High school. Leonora gradu¬ 
ated with honors in 1899. The next year she tutored her 
cousin Robert. 

Nov. 21, 1900, she married Guy Barton French, son of 
Edwin E. and Elizabeth Abbe French, of Omaha, Neb. Guy 
French was born in Omaha, April 22, 1879. They attended 
high school together and their marriage was the culmination 
of a youthful romance. 

They have one child, Octa Leonora French, born June 
16, 1904, at their home on North 24th street in Omaha. 

Leonora united with the Plymouth Congregational church 
in Omaha in 1906, where she was an active worker. 

In June, 1913, Guy and Leonora removed to Minneapolis, 
jMinii. They lived near Lake Harriet and enjoyed their sum- 



JARED EIDWIN SMITH 


199 


mer and winter activities at this lake. 

They removed to Chicago, Sept. 7, 1923, where they now 
reside. Leonora has developed into a woman of great poise 
and broad sympathies. 


Octa Leonora French 

Octa Leonora French was born in Omaha, June 16, 1904. 
She removed with her parents to Minneapolis, July 1, 1913. 
She attended Lake Harriet school and graduated with honors. 
She was selected from a large class to give a dramatic read¬ 
ing, “The Selfish Giant.'’ 

She entered West High school at Minneapolis and gradu¬ 
ated Dee. 19, 1921, one of seven honor pupils. Octa entered 
the University of Minnesota, Sept., 1922. Out of twelve Fresh¬ 
man pledges to be chosen to become a member of Pi Beta Phi, 
National Sorority, Octa was one of that twelve. 

When Octo was given the leading character, “Dulcy,” in 
the play of “Diilcy,” she was the first Freshman of the Uni¬ 
versity of Minnesota to receive that honor, which was giveki 
by the Dramatic Organization of that University. 

Octa accompanied her parents to Chicago to reside on 
Oct. 2, 1923. She entered Chicago University, where she has 
won distinction in dramatics and scholarship. 


Jared Edwin Smith 

Jared Edwin Smith, first son and third child of Jared 
Joel and Carrie Octa Patrick Smith, was born Jan. 15, 1885, 
at Blair, Neb. He received a good education, graduating from 
the Omaha High school in 1904. 

He entered business with his father and was for a number 
of years in the yeast business. Later he entered the account¬ 
ing business in Kansas City and St. Louis until 1914. 




200 


WARD KEYSAR SMITH 


At this time he returned to Florence to farm with his 
father for a year. In 1915 he left for the southwest to see 
the country and follow his new farming^ interest. In 1916 he 
established a home in Las Animas County, Colorado; then 
Government range or new country. 

He continued the farming and raising of Holstein cattle 
business at this place for seven years, obtaining the title to 
640 acres of this land in the meantime. 

In April, 1918, Jay married Elizabeth Mary Simmons, 
daughter of John B. and Olivia Avery Simmons, at the home 
of her sister, Mrs. R. L. Root, of Trinidad, Colo. 

Elizabeth was born Dee. 7, 1886, at Homer, near Shreve¬ 
port, La., where she received her schooling and musical train¬ 
ing. Her lineage for the Daughters of the American Revolu¬ 
tion is from General Hardy Griffin. She came west to Clay¬ 
ton, New Mexico, with her family when Mr. Simmons’ health 
failed. 

In 1916 they came to Branson, and James, John and Betty 
Simmons each filed on 640 acres of Colorado land. 

After their marriage Jay and Betty lived on Jay’s ranch, 
where they raised Holstein cattle and built up their home. 
Here Jay was elected Justice of the Peace and took a leading 
part in the community. 

In 1923 they came to Red Apple Farm, the old home 
place, where they now reside. 


Ward Keysar Smith 

Ward K. Smith, son of Jared Joel and Priscilla Avery 
Smith, was born in Omaha, Neb., Oct. 22, 1894. He was bap¬ 
tized in infancy at Plymouth Congregational church. 

He attended the Saratoga public school for seven years, 
taking his Eighth grade work in Fairview country district 
school. He graduated from Omaha High school in 1913. He 
was fond of athletic sports, especially football, and enjoyed 



WARD KEYSAR SMITH 


201 


the Cadet Corps of the 0. H. S., obtaining successively the 
rank of Corporal and First Sergeant, graduating as Captain 
of Company B., and as such drilled his company with such 
thoroughness that they won the silver cup in the annual com¬ 
petitive drill held at Fort Omaha, June, 1913. 

Working with his father at the farm home, he applied 
himself to learning the science of orcharding as well as grape 
and strawberry culture, and greatly enjoyed his work. 

In the fall of 1918 he went into Iowa to sort and pack 
apples for an Omaha buyer. There he met Inez V. Summers 
of Malvern, Iowa, and on June 20, 1920, they were married 
at Malvern. Inez Vay Summers, daughter of Grant and Ella 
Nealey Summers, was born at Newman Grove, Neb., Jan. 
23, 1892. 

The family removed to Malvern, Iowa, and sent the three 
sons, Glenn, Frank and Durand, to Iowa University. After 
Inez attended high school, she became a skillful housekeeper 
while at home with her mother. 

Ward and Inez came to Rod Apple Farm to live. Their 
infant son, born in August, 1921, did not survive. 

Nov. 6, 1922, leaving home for an hour’s work out on 
the farm, he was instantly killed by coming in contact with a 
fence which had become electrically charged while workmen 
were making repairs upon the electric light wires at some 
distance. 

A little more than two months after this great tragedy, 
on Jan. 21, 1923, a son was born to the young widow, Inez 
V. Smith, and was named Ward Summers Smith. 

Thev reside at Florence, Neb., with Mr. and Mrs. Summers. 

P. A. S. 

It is fitting to here make some mention of the sterling 
qualities of character of Ward Smith, who was taken from 
life before his prime, and yet had made his life so fine that 
one can only mourn the loss to the world of a truly great 
man, to be. 





202 


PERRY DOUGLAS SMTH 


His devotion to his parents and especially his tender love 
for his mother, was remarkable, and his courtesy and gentle¬ 
manly demeanor brought him the respect of all who knew 
him. He was interested in good books and was always a 
thoughtful and intelligent conversationalist. His mind inclined 
toward philosophy, but he was an active workman and took 
pleasure in making his work a success. 

It would be impossible to picture all the virtues of Ward, 
but if it could be said of any one, it could be said of him, 
“Here is a man.” K. M. E. 


Biography of Perry Douglas Smith 

Perry Douglas Smith, fifth child and fourth son of John 
K. and Mary Ann Smith, was born Jan. 16, 1858, in Davis 
County, Iowa. He removed with his parents to Douglas 
County the same year. While living with his mother in Flor¬ 
ence during the Civil War, he and his older brother, Jared, 
often went swimming against his mother’s will. One time, 
when only four years old, he went without his brother and 
while playing with a log in the water, got caught in the cur¬ 
rent and swept down stream. Only one boy in the gang could 
swim, but he acted instantly. Darting down the bank a few 
yards ahead of the boy, he jumped in and managed to drag 
the log to shore. Douglas came out drenched but still com¬ 
posed. He had kept his head and calmly held on till he was 
rescued. 

After the war he came back with his parents to the old 
homestead. He and Thad were given the care of the twenty 
head of cattle from the time he was eight. They had most 
of the country in which to herd them and had only to avoid 
the cultivated fields. The two boys knew the best sloughs 
and creeks for miles. They knew the best plum thickets, 
where the blackberries grew, and where the wild strawberries 
were best. 




PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


203 


Accompanied by the two old dogs, Biz and Fij, they 
herded from spring to fall. Once barefooted Douglas almost 
stumbled over a rattler. He came whistling home from the 
pasture and stopped to pluck a flower when, wh-r-r, he heard 
the rattle of a snake under foot. He straightened with a jerk, 
for the rattler was coiled at his feet, and jumped back just 
in time to avoid the upward strike of the snake. Needless to 
say, he did not linger. 

The boys always went out with a curved stick (a natural 
crook) to herd the cattle. One day he saw on a gopher hill 
two big rattlesnakes and was advancing upon them when 
Thad screamed and pointed to a third just behind him, ready 
to strike. Douglas flayed him with the crooked stick and 
then wheeled to smite the two on the gopher hill. They 
carried the rattles home in triumph. Another day they killed 
two black snakes, 10 feet long, and laid them by the side of 
the road for travelers to see. 

The boys sometimes found time long on their hands, so 
when the herd was in a quiet place they would read. The 
first thing Douglas ever read was a thrilling novel called 
“Squatter Dick,” dealing with the swamps of Carolina, and 
the deeds of Marion and Carleton. One passage was so thrill¬ 
ing that he forgot the cattle, and when he looked up they 
were gone. 

They had broken into Mr. Shipley’s corn field. The boy 
daily expected a visit from him, but he never found out. This 
same man had a choice watermelon patch and of course the 
boys found out about it. Douglas, Thad and Will Lonergan 
sneaked into the patch one night and carried away several. 
Douglas happened to get an old pumpkin for his share, but 
the rest were fine. 

The next day as the boys were up a plum tree, Mr. 
Shipley came on them unexpectedly. ‘‘You boys were in my 
melon patch last night,” he said, accusingly. “I found where 
you got in and stole six of my best melons. You come down 
here right now and I’ll give you what you deserve.” He 
made a threatening gesture toward them and they trembled 



204 


PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


for fear he would grab them. How they did wish they were 
higher! 

“ITl get you for this, and what’s more, I’ll tell your 
dad. He ’ll fix you. ’ ’ With this parting shot he walked away. 
For weeks the boys feared his visit, and finally they saw Mr. 
Shipley talking to their father one day. Their father’s atti¬ 
tude as he caught sight of them encouraged the boys to come 
nearer. As Mr. Shipley turned away with one last flourish 
Father Smith chuckled and bent upon the boys a look of deep 
understanding. He never offered one word of reproof. 

A little later one of the rival herd boys from the Ponca 
district pre-empted one of the choicest grass beds and would 
not give it up. After some words on the subject Douglas 
slipped down there one night and tossed a civet cat over the 
bluffs on their home. To this day they know him as “the boy 
that threw that skunk over the bluffs.” 

In the winter time the boys went to the district school. 
Three months was all they could be spared. It didn’t take 
long, however, for Douglas to become a tease. One big girl, 
Hannah Bird, about three times his size, Avas his special mark. 
He had a trick of provoking her till she chased him. MTien 
she grabbed for him he would drop flat before her and tumble 
her headlong. Quick as a flash he would be up and away, 
laughing at her fall. He did this twice and then she caught 
him, and he received his deserved punishment. 

Douglas Avas not unpopular with the girls, hoAvever. He 
had admirers. In one case he sat across the aisle and one seat 
back from Missouri Bird. She turned often to encounter his 
gaze. One day she had a falling out Avith him, and seeing 
him gaze at her, quickly raised her hand. “Teacher, teacher!” 
she cried, “Doug. Smith’s looking at me.” 

“Well!” said the teacher Avith a caustic smile, “if you 
hadn’t been looking at him, you Avouldn’t have seen it.” 

The old Farmers’ Grange was in existence then. The 
meetings were always held in the school house and the pro¬ 
ceedings were ahvays secret. Will Lonergan and Douglas 
decided they would listen in on one meeting. The night the 



PERRY DpUGLAS SMITH 


205 


Grang^e was supposed to meet, the two boys climbed into the 
attic and lay with their eyes to a knot hole. Well, they lay 
and waited, but they heard nothing, for the meeting was not 
scheduled for that night. 

The next time they met, the boys put sulphur in the old 
fashioned “drums” and then stuffed up the chimney with 
sacks, besides which they nailed down the windows. When 
the fire was started, out puffed billows of sulphur smoke. The 
men crowded out of the door choking and gasping, while the 
young scamps lay laughing in the grass nearby. After some 
hesitation the roof was climbed and the sacks dragged out of 
the chimney. AVhen order was restored Douglas ran to one 
of the loosened windows, jerked it down with a bang and 
then scooted for home. 

After completing the Eighth grade, he went two years 
to the Omaha High school, 1876-7, and then became a teacher 
for one year at Garryowen school. 

In 1879 he and his brother Jared were appointed Govern¬ 
ment licensed traders for the Indian Winnebago Agency. 
While there Douglas became well acquainted with the Indians, 
and learned many of their customs and dances. 

In athletic sports he equaled all the'young braves, for he 
outran, outjumped and outwrestled the native boys. During 
one horse race (of which sport the Indians were especially 
fond), Douglas’ horse stumbled and fell, throwing him to the 
ground with a broken shoulder. The “Wad-a-ween-a” (trader) 
was well liked, their special name for him being, “Wide Eyes.” 

The Indians were honest in their dealings and took child¬ 
ish delight in purchasing “Dowa-zsura-kiti-kish,” or “long 
striped sugar. ’ ’ 

The young squaws might not be termed “flappers,’ but 
to the youngest, most handsome and flashing maidens the In¬ 
dians gave the name, “ Wah-see-se-kee” (very smart). 

Sometimes to the “Wad-a-ween-a” would come the mono¬ 
tonous “tom-tom” of the drum, several nights repeated, and 
then would occur one of the famous Indian dances. Perhaps 
they would dance the grotesque “Buffalo Dance, in which 




206 


PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


each important brave and chieftain carried a huge buffalo 
skull over his head. 

Sometimes would come the gruesome “Scalp Dance,” in 
which both braves and squaws danced, with many a shrill er}" 
and yell, around a pole adorned with human scalps. 

Greatest of all, and perhaps the most weird, was the 
famous “Medicine Dance.” In this dance a huge pouch of 
wolf or deer skin hung from the waist of each Indian, which 
was supposed to be “The Evil One’s” bellows. One squeeze 
from these bellows at a young brave was supposed to be enough 
to lay him flat in the circling dance. A blast from a young 
brave’s bellows could not overcome an old warrior but a blast 
from a warrior of equal rank would cause many a groan and 
many a contortion before the victim might recover from the 
evil blow. 

The most doughty and vigilant Chieftain’s could never, 
however, be entirely overcome, no matter how severe the bel¬ 
low’s blast. 

At the opening of the new Industrial school for Indians 
on the Omaha Reservation, Perry Douglas Smith was appointed 
the first Superintendent. Though he had the supervision of 
six women and three men (two teachers, a matron, a cook, four 
seamstresses’ and a carpenter), besides the care of over a hun¬ 
dred Indian children, his administration was marked for its 
peaceful and successful course. 

The following year, 1881, he returned again as trader to 
the Winnebago Agency, while Jared held the same post at the 
Sioux Agency (Brule), Yankton, S. D. The two brothers 
closed their Indian services in 1882 by opening a merchandise 
store at Blair, Nebraska. 

On Nov. 1, 1882, at the age of 24, Perry Douglas married 
Emeline Weber, of Florence, with whom he had been in love 
for two years previous. 

Emeline Weber, born Feb. 15, 1868, Florence, Neb., was the 
first daughter and fourth child of Jacob and Amalia Rutter 
Weber. She married at the age of 19. 




PERRY DjQUGLAS SMITH 


207 


Jacob Weber, Sr., born April 9, 1833, Bavaria, Germany, 
died March 27, 1923, Florence Neb. He fought against the 
Prussians, under Schurz, in the Bavarian Revolution of 1848. 

He fled to America the same year and soon after opened a 
bakery in Cincinnati, Ohio. On Jan. 1, 1856, he married in 
Cincinnati Amalia Rutter, born Jan. 23, 1832, at Shoemburg, 
Wurtemburg, Germany, died Sept. 27, 1910, Florence, Neb. 

They removed to London, 0., in 1856; to Springfield, Ill., 
and Florence in 1857. He ran a log mill and later a flour mill, 
thereby becoming the only miller in Florence for fifty years. 
Children: 

Emil. 

Will. 

Walter. 

Emeline. 

Mary. 

Jacob, Jr. 

Amalia Rutter Weber was baptized in the Catholic church 
and Jacob Weber in the Lutheran church, both in Germany. 

Perry Douglas and Emeline Smith removed in 1887 to the 
old Smith homestead, which in 1895 they purchased from the 
Smith heirs for $5,150.00. 

In 1893 he was elected Treasurer of the Fairview District 
School Board, and for 24 years thereafter he served on the 
Board, 21 years as Director. 

From the time his eldest child. Fay, entered school, until 
the year 1917, when his youngest daughter, Joy, graduated, he 
quietly, successfully and economically ran the affairs of 
District No. 32. 

In 1914 Perry D. and Emeline filed on 640 acres of sand¬ 
hill (Cherry County land), which they later sold to their 
brother-in-law, Jesse C. Crossley, a sand-hill rancher who 
owned the adjacent ranch. 

By the good judgment and common sense of Douglas and 
Emeline Smith, the two have built up a home and earned the 
name of earnest and upright citizens. Douglas has been 
especially noted for his literary tastes, the classics and Homor 




208 


PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


being his field. Like his Smith forefathers he has wit, humor 
and the faculty of telling a good story. 

Diplomacy and the attributes of a gentleman are not lack¬ 
ing, so that he has won the respect of his community and of his 
friends. He was never arrested in his life and never had a 
court summons. He served on the grand jury that investigated 
the riot and burning of the court house in Omaha, Neb. In six 
weeks they brought in over 300 indictments. Six were after¬ 
ward convicted and sent to the penitentiary. This riot was 
one of the most dangerous attacks upon law and order of 
government ever planned by outlaws. 

By Ruth C. Smith. 


This is the story of a man who has been successful all 
his life. He has never suffered a death in his immediate family 
nor a business reverse, nor a crop failure. 

Endowed by nature with a keen and logical mind he has 
never allowed success to dull his sympathies or unduly uplift 
his heart. 

A tireless student in youth, he achieved success as a 
teacher in schools at Garryowen and Ponca Indian school, and 
his western experiences steadied his venturesome blood. All 
the thriUs of ‘‘Dead Shot Dick” were found in his experiences 
at the Omaha Indian Agency. 

The Indians had lived an ideal savage life. They went 
north in summer, fished and hunted, and when cold weather 
came they went south and fished and hunted there. The skins 
of the buffalo and the deer furnished them with clothing, tents 
and bedding. There was an abundance of rabbits and fish, 
and wild fruits of many kinds. They had many ponies and a 
wealth of furs and skins. They had their dances and pow¬ 
wows and a family life of some merit. 

In 1850 entered the white man—greedy, wasteful, cruel 
and dishonest, from the Indian's standpoint. They seized the 
land, slaughtered the buffalo and deer, and reduced the well- 
fed Indian to a diet of dog and wolf meat and they were 




PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


209 


filled with desire for revenge. 

After the Custer disaster the U. S. Government was de¬ 
termined to confine the Indians to reservations of land and 
give them rations until they learned white ways. 

They went to Government schools and became accustomed 
to one piece of land, one house, and to raise their own cattle 
and hogs and grain. In fifty years we have seen this done. 
Another fifty years and the Indian race will be civilized and 
meanwhile the automobile is giving them back their freedom! 

In 1881 the deer and buffalo were gone and the Indians 
were starving and desperate. The leaders of the Custer mas¬ 
sacre were sent to reservations under close watch: ‘ ‘ Sitting 
Bull” in the South, and Spotted Tail to the Sioux Agency. 

Spotted Tail was bitterly resentful of his people’s 
wrongs and waited for a chance to strike a blow for them. 
Douglas always felt safer when Spotted Tail and he slept 
under the same roof at the Agency, Then he knew where he 
was. 

Jared tells this story: One day there came a train of 60 
Indians with about fifteen tepees. They made camp in the 
snow, and a wild looking Indian came to the fence surrounding 
the buildings, folded his arms and stood there like a brooding 
spirit of vengeance from 3 o’clock to 6. Then came Spotted 
Tail, who wont out and talked Brule to him. The Chief 
came back and said, “Give him a slab of bacon. They are 
hungry. They have been hunting. They found no game. 
White men have killed all!” 

The Indian took his bacon to his starving friends instead 
of attacking the reservation stores. Next day the poor things 
found some coyotes poisoned and frozen stiff. These they 
skinned and cut off the legs and boiled and ate them. The 
poison had not entered the frozen legs. The Indians did not 
eat such things from choice but because they were starving. 
The sight of their suffering squaws and papooses broke the 
spirits of the braves and they began to come in to ask for allot¬ 
ments of territory, which should be their permanent homes. 



210 


PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


The U. S. Government had established some Sioux Indians 
at a place forty miles north of Yankton, S. D., on the west side 
of the Missouri River. 

Spotted Tail did not like the barren, treeless plateau. It 
was poorly watered and there was little game, as the alkali 
water did not attract them. 

Spotted Tail asked to be established at Rose Bud, on the 
Niobrara River, where he could gather his starving people 
together and locate them on arable land to make a permanent 
home. 

Commissioner Hoyt was determined to keep them where 
they were and refused them transportation. Mr. Hoyt took a 
rowboat from the store-house landing and was rowed to the 
west side of the river to meet the Indians. 

Commissioner Hoyt (who was very bald), and Spotted 
Tail sat down under the shed there and talked it over. 

While they talked five hundred young braves in warpaint 
silently fell into orderly lines around the building. They were 
on horseback and carried their guns. Each time Commissioner 
Hoyt refused permission to move, the Indians came a step 
nearer. Finally Spotted Tail rose to his feet, and with an 
impressive gesture said: 

“These are my people—six thousand people. We wish to 
go to Rose Bud. We can live there. Here we die. There is 
no reason why we should not go. 

“You represent the Great Father. I have listened to you 
for his reasons. There are none. 

“You are a liar; all white men are liars, and baldheaded 
ones are the worst. Now this is my word—in three suns we 
go!’’ 

This open defiance and the phalanx of armed braves did 
its work. Hoyt was scared. “Alright, we will send your pro¬ 
visions and transportation.” (This last concession as the 
braves glided behind Hoyt, cutting off his retreat to his boat.) 
He lost no time returning to the fort across the river. Major 
Pollock and fifty men guarded the store house there. 



PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


211 


Commissioner Hoyt repented his promise, but Major Pol¬ 
lock reasoned with him and urged him to fulfill it. 

“You hold six thousand Indians with fifty men! There 
will be another massacre, ’ ’ he said. 

Major Pollock told Spotted Tail to move slowly as the 
wagons must be collected from many storehouses. So Spotted 
Tail set out with his people. They went to Rose Bud and 
are there to this day. 

The Government sent fifty wagons with trailers from 
Cheyenne to them. The wagons were drawn by three pairs 
of oxen with a cowboy riding guard. The steers were termed 
“lazy steers” and free or “willing steers.” They drove pell- 
mell down the hills, as the wagons had no brakes, and then 
crawled up the next hill. The man in command observed a 
cowboy whipping a steer. “What are you doing?” he called. 
“Trying to make this lazy steer pull,” cried the cowboy. 
“Whip the free steer,” said the boss, “then he’ll pull twice as 
much! ” 

This piece of freighters’ wisdom amused Douglas very 
much. On his return to the freight house he helped a brave 
get away who had not been able to go with the rest. 

A few weeks before he had seen a young squaw come up 
behind a buck and stab him in the back with a wicked looking 
knife, then she turned and ran off. “He is throwing her 
away,” grunted an Indian friend. The Indian slowly re¬ 
covered, and when he was well he took her back, and they 
followed the tribe to Rose Bud, a happy family once more. 

Shortly after this occurrence Douglas joined Jared at the 
Omaha and Winnebago Agency, where he had many friends 
both among the Indians and the whites. 

Major Wilkinson was in command of the troops there. 
Jared often drove the thirty-five miles to Sioux City for sup¬ 
plies. One morning the Major handed him a note as he started 
and asked him to take it to a bank. He delivered the note and 
the cashier asked him what he had to carry money in. He 
answered that he had nothing but some old feed sacks. Capi¬ 
tal!” replied the cashier, and brought a sack in the back door 



212 


PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


into which he put a package. Jared left without giving any 
security and drove home through the dusk. He delivered the 
package, which contained $12,500 to pay the troops, to Major 
Wilkinson. Jared was 23 years old at this time. 

Later, when going from Tekamah (Neb.) to Omaha the 
cashier of the Bank at Tekamah gave Jared two $1,000 bank 
notes to deliver to the cashier of the First National at Omaha. 

In those early days men had to trust each other, but sel¬ 
dom were men so young honored with the confidence of the U. 
S. Government. 

Through their whole lives Jared and Douglas showed the 
same intergrity and trustworthiness. While they lived in 
Blair they made the same impression on the community. 

When Douglas had demonstrated to his own satisfaction 
that a business career was not good for his health, he came at 
the desire of his mother in 1889 to manage her farm. Though 
he has owned many farms he remained at the home in Valley 
Rest to cultivate its acres and take his father ^s place in the 
community. He has been a school director for 25 years. 

He, like his mother, gave his children very excellent edu¬ 
cations at Brownell Hall and Omaha High school. 

I think much of his success in life is due to his exccdlent 
wife, Emeline Weber Smith, the result of her even temper and 
great industry. 

The general health of a family lies in the hands of the 
mother, and the nearly perfect health and excellent family 
training of Douglas, and Emetine’s five children, are a great 
credit to her as well as to their just, loving and generous 
father. 

The family routine is without friction and the hospitality 
is worthy of the family traditions. 

Douglas reads always the finest things—the Iliad, the 
Bible, the Odyssey, and the best of every age. 

II is keen, impartial mind is combined with a heart open 
and tender. His beautiful companionship with his son Sidney 
is ideal. 



CHILDREN OF PERRY DOUGLAS SMITH 


213 


I chronicle these things because a man^s life does not con¬ 
sist alone of birth, marriage, and death, but because it is, 
rather, his health, circumstance and character—the first two 
influencing the last. 

C. P. M. 


Children of Perry Douglas Smith 

Children of Perry Douglas and Bmeline Weber Smith: 
Fay Emeline Smith Lane, b. Dec. 15, Blair, Neb. 

Sidney Weber Smith, b. Nov. 1, 1889, Valley Rest, Neb. 
Arthur Douglas Smith, b. Aug. 15, 1895, Valley Rest, Neb. 
Ruth Carol Smith, b. Dec. 25, 1900, Valley Rest, Neb. 
Joy Irene Smith, b. Dec. 9, 1903, Valley Rest, Neb. 

Ref.—^Douglas Genealogy, Family Bible, Records of 
Indian Bureau, Douglas County Records, Washington 
County Records. 


Fay Emeline Smith Lane 

Fay Emeline Smith, first child of Perry Douglas and Erne- 
line Weber Smith, was born Dec. 15, 1883, at Blair, Neb. 

She came to Valley Rest with her parents in 1887 and 
attended Fairview District school No. 32. She was very stu¬ 
dious and had an average of A plus through the Eighth grade 
there. 

After a year at Omaha Central High school in 1899, she 
finished a four years’ course at Brownell Hall in three years. 

She maintained her high average at Brownell Hall and 
won the warm friendship of the Principal, Miss McCrae. 

On Oct. 2, 1907, Fay married at Valley Rest, Harry Carna¬ 
han Lane, soA of John M. and Jane Scott Lane, of Omaha. 



214 


FAY EMELINE SMITH LANE 


Harry and Pay traveled to the Jamestown Exposition on 
their wedding trip, stopping also at Washington, D. C. 

Harry’s mother, Mrs, Jane Elizabeth Scott Lane, and his 
sister, have made their home with him all of his married life. 
In June, 1921, his mother passed away, but his sister still 
lives with him. She has great artistic ability and paints in oils 
and upon china. 

Mrs. Jane Elizabeth Scott Lane sometimes told of the 
boyhood days of her father, Charles Scott, on Staten Island 
with Commodore Vanderbilt. He sent Charles and Joseph 
Scott as captain and engineer across the ocean with the first 
steamship that ever entered the harbor of St. Petersburg. 
They took the Czar on a trip and on parting he showed his 
pleasure by a gift of an $8,000 diamond, and ordered a steam¬ 
ship at once for himself. 

Harry C. Lane was born Jan. 12, 1878, at LaPayette, ind. 
At an early age he came with his parents to Omaha and 
later removed to Manilla, Iowa, where he attended high school, 
and in 1894 came with his parents and sister Jane to Omaha. 

Harry worked for the Sherman and McConnell Drug Co., 
and afterward for the Crissej^ Pharmacy as errand boy. Ho 
studied constantly and became a Registered Pharmacist in 
1898. 

In 1899 he was put in charge of the store at 24th and 
Ames avenue by Mr. P. B. Haight, and later became a partner. 

After Mr. Haight’s death Harry bought his share in the 
business of the Saratoga Pharmacy. 

In 1918 Harry started the Post Pharmacy at 30th and 
Fort and in 1923 bought the Blake store at 16th and Locust. 
The stores are incorporated under the name of the Lane 
Drug Co. 

He is a Mason, an Elk, and a member of the Chamber of 
Commerce, Auto Club, North Omaha Club, State Pharmaceu¬ 
tical Association and the Prettiest Mile Club. 

Harry and Fay are members of St. John’s Episcopal 
church, in which all their children were baptized. 



FAY EMELINE SMITH LANE 


216 


Fay belongs to St. John’s Guild, North Side Mother’s 
Club, Fontenelle Chapter of the Eastern Star, and is proposed 
for the D. A. R. 

Harry and Fay have taken many trips together, one in 
1908 to Salt Lake City, Twin Falls, and the northwest. An¬ 
other in 1923 was by auto to Davenport and on to Chicago, 
and was greatly enjoyed by the younger members of the 
family also. 

Harry and Fay have five children living. Their home 
life is ideal. It is seldom that so successful a business man 
is so gracious in his family. He brings a greeting and gifts 
on his return home and takes great pleasure in his family. 
The training is all constructive instead of negative. Fay has 
developed her talent in music and all her children share it. 

Children of Fay Smith Lane and Harry Carnahan Lane : 

Elizabeth Amelia, b. Aug. 14, 1909. 

Douglas Scott, b. Aug. 23, 1911. 

Emeline Fay, b. Dec. 30, 1913. 

Harry Bertrand, b. Dec. 15, 1916. 

Julia Alice, b. Oct. 11, 1918. 

John Menuse, b. July 21,1922; did not survive. 

Ref.—Douglas County Records. 


Children of Harry and Fay Smith Lane 

Elizabeth Amelia Lane was born in Omaha in 1909. She 
shows some literary inclination and has written several little 
plays. One was a Christmas play and was given at Saratoga 
school. Another, in the writing of which her aunt Ruth Smith 
and she collaborated, was given by her club of girls at the 
Victoria theater. She also won a prize for composition in 
her classroom. 

She has taken three years of dancing lessons, two from 
Miss Cooper and one from Pleasant Holyoke Elwood. Eliza¬ 
beth also takes piano lessons from Eleanor Jane Lear. She 



216 


SIDNEY WEBER SMITH 


stands well in art. She wrote the class poem for her graduat¬ 
ing class. 

Douglas Scott Lane was born in Omaha in 1911. He at¬ 
tends Saratoga school and is very interested in sports and 
art. He is taking violin lessons of Eloise "West McNichols. 
He is a member of a neighborhood orchestra of four boys 
and Saratoga school orchestra. He is a Boy Scout also. 

Emeline Fay Lane, born in 1913, in Omaha, has had one 
year of piano and has had dancing under Miss Cooper. She 
shows much initiative and a great interest in art. 

Harry Bertrand Lane was born in Omaha in 1916 and 
was named for Mr. Haight, who was Harry’s earfy partner. 
He, like the others, shows artistic ability. 

Julia Alice Lane, born in Omaha in 1918, was named for 
Mrs. Crissey and is also very artistic. 


Sidney Weber Smith 

Sidney Weber Smith, second child and first son of Perry 
Douglas and Emeline Weber Smith, was born Nov. 1, 1889, 
at Valley Rest (near Florence), Neb. He entered the Fairview 
school at 7 and soon made splendid marks for himself. Dur¬ 
ing the four years in which he attended high school, he rode 
from the farm to Florence on horseback daily. He studied 
mathematics, history, English, science, and won credit for 
his ability in manual training. 

He was made successively Corporal, Sergeant, and 3rd 
Lieutenant of Co. C in the High School Regiment. Out of 
a total of 45 credits made when he graduated in 1908, 31 
of them were A’s. 

In March, 1912, he went to Twin Falls, Idaho, to prove 
up on a 160 acres of Salmon River land drawn by Jennie Lane 
under the Government Carey Act. He took two car loads of 
farm goods and for four years ran a threshing outfit taken 



ARTHUR DOUGLAS SMITH 


217 


from Nebraska. For two of the four years his younger brother, 
Arthur, was given a partnership in the threshing machine. 

In 1916, after purchasing 120 acres of the Lane drawing, 
he turned the place over to Arthur and his wife and returned 
to his father’s home at Valley Rest. Though Sidney had a 
partnership in his father’s farm when the war broke out he 
refused exemption and was called to the colors July 20, 1918. 

During his preliminary training at Camp Dodge he was 
not assigned but upon arriving at Camp Benjamin Harrison 
Nov. 10 he was immediately placed in Co. B, 92nd Engineers. 
While he was taking intensive training to become an engineer 
the war was ended; he was therefore honorably discharged 
Dec. 14, 1918, from Cap Benjamin Harrison. 

Since then he has resumed farming with his father and is 
highly successful in his undertakings. He became a member 
of St. Marks Protestant Episcopal church of Florence, Neb., 
in Nov., 1923. 

Ref.—Douglas Co. Records; Twin Falls Records; Rec¬ 
ords of War Department, 1918. 

R. C. S. 


Arthur Douglas Smith 

Arthur Douglas Smith, third child and second son of 
Perry Douglas and Emeline Weber Smith, was born Aug. 14, 
1895, at Valley Rest (near Florence), Neb. 

He attended Fairview District school and spent two years 
at Omaha Central High school. He attained in his Sophomore 
year the rank of Sergeant in the Cadet Organization. He 
left school at this time to join his brother, Sidney, at Twin 
Falls, Idaho. 

After two years of bachelor life spent in farming Arthur 
met and married, March 3rd, 1915, Lillian Hunter, born June 
3, 1897, at Davenport, Iowa. She was the first daughter of 



218 


RCTH CAROL SMIT^ 


David Watson and Annabel Patrick Hunter. David Watson 
Hunter was born at Allenwood, Penn., Sept. 6, 1868, married 
Dee. 25, 1894, in Iowa, Annabel Patrick Hunter, born Oct, 20, 
1875, Sioux City, Iowa, and died Jan. 10, 1922, at Twin P^alls. 
Idaho. David Watson Hunter was the son of elohn Hunter, 
born in Pennsylvania and died in Pennsylvania in 1919, and 
Elizabeth McCormick Hunter, born in Pennsylvania and died 
1913 in Pennsylvania. Elizabeth McCormick Hunter was the 
first cousin of Sylvester McCormick, the great Harvester Mc¬ 
Cormick of Chicago, Ill. 

Lillian Hunter Smith came from Davenport, Iowa, at the 
age of six to Seattle, Wash., and at eleven removed to (^he- 
hallis. Wash., where she finished grade school. She attended 
high school at Portland, Oregon, and on account of the ill¬ 
ness of her father came to her grandfather’s farm near Twin 
Falls in 1913, with her parents, where she met Arthur. 

After spending four years on his brother’s farm Arthur 
and his wife moved to Twin Falls, where he became salesman 
for the Buick Auto Co. In 1921 they returned to the farm, 
where they resided for three years, and he has since been 
occupied by farming elsewhere also. 

Arthur and Lillian have two children: Vera Carol, born 
Dec. 3, 1917, on the farm near Twin Falls: and Mildred Kath- 
lyn, born Aug. 17, 1919, at Twin Falls. 

Arthur shows a well developed talent along electrical 
lines and is an industrious and likable membei* of the Smith 
tribe. 

R. C. S. 

Ref.—Douglas County Records; Twin Falls Records. 


Ruth Carol Smith 

Ruth Carol Smith, fourth child and second daughter of 
Perry Douglas and Emeline Weber Smith, was born Dec. 25, 
1900, at Valley Rest (near Florence), Neb. She attended 



RUTH CAROL SMITH 


219 


Fairview District school and passed the Eighth grade with 
six A’s and 4 B’s. 

Being somewhat of a “bookworm” and consequently a 
very conscientious student, after , six months of attendance at 
the Omaha Central High school she was prevented from con¬ 
tinuing her studies there by a nervous breakdown, which she 
suffered in 1917. In 1920-21 she spent a year in Brownell 
Hall specializing in English and History, 

Feb. 22, 1921, she was selected from a class of fourteen 
to read an original essay on “The Washington Ideals which 
should live in Brownell Hall.” In addition to writing the 
criticisms of the Shakespearian plays given in Omaha that 
year, her short story, “That's Different,” was chosen as the 
best one from the English class to go into Brownell Hall’s 
student paper, “The Triangle.” June 10, 1921, Bishop 
Shayler awarded Ruth at All Saints Episcopal church the 
1921 Brownell Hall Bible Cross for attaining the highest marks, 
A-plus, in Bible study. 

She read a literary criticism of Hawthorne’s “House of 
Seven Gables” before a meeting of the North Omaha Mother’s 
Club in February, 1922. Later in the spring she collaborated 
with her niece, Elizabeth Lane, in writing and producing the 
play “Hearts Under Masks,” which was given at the Victoria 
theater May 28. The management of the play was entirely 
under her direction. Under the supervision of Mrs. Ahlquist, 
charity worker, the proceeds were personally distributed by 
Elizabeth and Ruth to needy persons. 

Ruth entered the University of Omaha in the fall of 1928, 
where she is now specializing in the Home Economics Depart¬ 
ment and in Literature. She is a reporter on the staff of the 
Weekly Gateway. 

Ruth became a member and was confirmed by the Bishop 
in St. Mark’s Protestant Episcopal church in Nov., 1923. She 
is a member of the choir and also the society of The King s 
Daughters. 

R. C. S. 



220 


JOY IRENE SMITH 


Joy Irene Smith. 

Joy Irene Smith, fifth child and third daughter of l*erry 
Douglas and Emeline Weber Smith, was born Dec. 3, 1903, at 
Valley Rest (near Florence), Neb. She attended the Pair view 
District school and graduated from the Eight grade as presi¬ 
dent of her class. She spent four years at Omaha Central High 
school, making consistently high marks until her graduation in 
June, 1923. She completed her Junior year with 5 A’s although 
her special field lay in the departments of Art and Household 
Arts. 

So original were her ideas in the designing of dresses that 
Miss Williams, head of the Household Arts Department, asked 
Joy to wear one which she had made at school in the “High 
School Style Show.^’ She was chosen by Miss Thomsett, the 
head art teacher, to draw a poster for the “Annual Road 
Show.” 

Her leather and tray work drew favorable comments, and 
she was asked to make a replica of her finished tray. 

She intends to pursue her musical bent further besides 
carrying out her penchant for tasteful designing of clothes 
and decorating. Her influence along these lines has already 
made itself felt in her parents’ home as their home has been 
redecorated and equipped with a fine lighting system and a 
radio, so that with its comforts and modern improvements, the 
old homestead, “Valley Rest,” in addition to its beautiful as¬ 
sociations and memories, surpasses the finest of city homes. 
With her talents in these directions Joy is destined to become 
a person of fame, of whom her family may well be proud. 

She was confirmed by the Bishop in St. Mark’s Protestant 
Episcopal church in Nov., 1923, where she now sings in the 
choir with her sister Ruth and her brother Sidney. 

R. C. S. 





THADDEUS ROYAL SMITH 


221 


Biography of Thaddeus Royal Smith. 

Thaddeus Royal Smith was born April 27, 1860, in Flor¬ 
ence. Neb. He was the fifth son and seventh child of John 
and Mary Smith. 

Thaddeus shared the boyhood experiences and attended 
school with his older brothers, Jared and Douglas. He at¬ 
tended the same school and remained at Valley Rest until he 
went away to College at Davenport, Iowa, in 1882. On his 
return he followed his brothers to Blair, where he was em¬ 
ployed in their mercantile business. 

A little later he took up a claim at Gordon, Neb. Here he 
built a sod house and with his farm implements and horses 
was seeking to prove up on his claim. A group of land thieves 
infested the country at that time and some of them were try¬ 
ing to jump his claim, which compelled Thad to stay close to 
his house, and he had many sleepless nights while he watched 
these marauders. On one of these occasions while he sat with 
a gun across his knees expecting every moment to be shot at 
or driven from his claim by force, he was surprised to hear 
nothing of the lawless invaders. He had expected from their 
threats to see some show of force that night. To his great 
surprise when he awoke after a restless nap at daylight he 
found that the invaders had built another sod house on the 
opposite corner of the land and were there in superior num¬ 
bers, and questions or reproaches met with threats and ugly 
words. 

A few days later when he returned from a necessary trip 
to town he found his horses, tools, plows and everything of 
value stolen by the land thieves, and was met by an ultimatum 
to clear out within twenty-four hours. As his money was 
used up and his urge for farming among such neighbors was 
gone, he returned to manage his mother’s farm. In a few 
3’'ears he married on April 28, 1887, at the home of her 
father, Carrie Daniels, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, born Feb. 14, 



222 


THADDEUS ROYAL SMITH 


1862, at Piqua, Ohio, daughter of David V. Daniels and Mary 
Elizabeth McClellan Daniels. 

Carrie came to Council Blutfs from Ohio April 6, 1871. 
Her mother was the niece of General George B. McClellan. 

Thaddeus built a house on some land which was a part of 
Valley Rest, and was given to him by his mother on condition 
that he remain upon it. The orchard which he set out then 
is still bearing fruit and is part of the great orchard of fruit 
trees which belong to his brother Jared today. The call of 
the unknown took him away soon, first to Schuyler, Neb., 
then to Lincoln, Neb., and from there to Gage, Oklahoma, in 
1892. 

He is a man of great resourcefulness and has a native 
humor all his own. He has a quiet philosophy and a talent 
for story telling, which furnished the following narrative. 

When he went to Oklahoma he went to Minco, on the 
edge of the Indian Reservation, which was to be opened to set¬ 
tlement soon. 

The first comers had the choice of the lands. One night 
while he camped on the banks of the Canadian River, he heard, 
as he lay resting, the wheezing of horses as they came down 
the banks of the river, made the ford and wheezed away at 
the mercy of their frantic masters, in the race for land on 
the reservation. 

He rested there for 24 hours, and drove his team care¬ 
fully to Oklahoma City where a friend told him of a good piece 
of land that had been deserted. He filed upon this, and lived 
there for five years upon his homestead of 160 acres. 

Pie raised cattle and ranged cattle for wealthier neighbors, 
one of whom, an Englishman, was elated over having made 
$18,000 the last year on his cattle. While he and his family 
were away, rustlers ran a great bunch of his steers down to 
the river, forded it and reached an island. 

Here they kept the cattle, expecting to sell them a few at 
a time to the Government for the soldiers. The river had 
raised and many of the cattle were drowned while trying to 
cross the flood. 



THADDEUS ROYAL SMITH 


223 


My brother warned Mr. King, the Englishman, and with 
the help of King’s herders drove back about 40 head of the 
cattle out of the thousand which the rustlers had stolen. They 
drove them into a field and the rustlers dared not come back 
after them. Mr. King’s profit that year was minus and he 
went back to England discouraged. 

While driving the cattle to the winter range they passed 
along a lane which had been fenced for two miles by the 
owner. This man rode fence all day long to see that they 
did not break through or run off any of his cattle. 

During the day one of his steers worked through the 
fence and joined the traveling herd of thousands. For a joke 
they let the steer alone and at nightfall the suspicious owner 
had never missed him, so the steer traveled on with the herd, 
to the great joy of an old black herder, John. 

“Dat feller suah got his comeuppins for playing us low- 
down,” he laughed. 

As they neared the Indian land John became the butt of 
their jokes. Like most of his race he was superstitious, so they 
told him that if he ate sugar the Cherokees would eat him, as 
they ate every nigger whose flesh was sweet. 

John was very useful in their encounters with rustlers 
who infested that country. A band of these men hung on 
their flanks for days. They sent a spy into the camp to see how 
watch was kept. My brother sensed the situation and confided 
to the interested stranger that they guarded the front and 
rear and let the fences hold the sides. The stranger rode away 
with the news and that night the herd passed a ranch where 
several hard-looking men rode out to look them over. John 
made a show of a big razor which he picked his teeth with, 
and the herd was allowed to pass. That night every man rode 
guard all night around and around the herd and each one saw 
many skulking figures at the sides. When morning came they 
pushed on for several miles and then lay down to sleep a few 
hours in relays. 

While here they watched the Government mule teams 
ford the Canadian River. As they passed, a three-foot rise. 



224 


THADDEUS ROYAL SMITH 


caused by melting snows above, came down the river with a 
roar. The drivers cut the traces of the mules and swam to 
shore but the heavy wagons were carried down and buried 
out of sight in the quick-sands, and are there to this day. 

After seven years here Thaddeus sold out and went over 
to Gage in search of better water. Here he and his wife ac- 
quird a comfortable fortune raising cattle, and in 16 years 
they again sold out and went to Jarosa, Costillo County, Colo¬ 
rado, in search of the ideal climate and an easier life. Here 
they live and he often thinks of the stirring scenes of his 
youth. 

In 1921 Thaddeus and Carrie drove their car to Nebraska, 
to visit Jared, Douglas, Cora and Angie, and talk over their 
early days. 

Thaddeus and Carrie had no children of their own but 
gave a home to twenty-eight orphans at different periods of 
their lives. They are known as ‘ ‘ Uncle Thad ’ ’ and ‘ * Aunt Car¬ 
rie” to a large circle of young people, and are well-beloved 
in their church. They have the same tastes and walk hand-in- 
hand contentedly down the slope of life toward the sotting 
sun. 

Ref.—Douglas Genealogy, Family Bible, Douglas 
County Records, Gage (Oklahoma) Records, Jarosa (Colo¬ 
rado) Records. 

C. P. 


Biography of Harriet Ruth Smith Crossley. 

Harriet Ruth Smith, third daughter of John K. and Mary 
Smith, was born March 23, 1863, at Florence, Neb., during the 
absence of her father in the army. She was a good and con¬ 
scientious child and always her mother’s comfort. 

She was so dependable that her brothers gave her the 
nickname of “Stiddy.” She was the guiding spirit of the 



HARRIET RUTH SMITH CRQSSLEY^ 

three younger sisters, and they had many pleasant times to¬ 
gether. 

Sometimes they tried their mother sorely; as when, one 
day, they cut off the posts of their grandmother’s great four- 
poster bed, in an effort to improve it and make it more up-to- 
date. The same daj^ they took the rockers off the cradle in 
which the whole family had been rocked, in order to make a 
fashionable “settee” of it. When their mother returned and 
saw the results of their work, she sat down, folding her hands, 
and said: “I am desolated. These things held memories so 
dear to me.” The girls never touched her heirlooms again. 

Harriet was mentor to the rest of the children and al¬ 
lowed no one to cause her mother worry if she could prevent 
it. It was this tendernes.s in her that afterward made her such 
a wonderful nurse. 

She was a fine cook and housekeeper and a generous and 
sympathetic friend. If she had had children she would have 
been an ideal mother. Her nephews and nieces, with whom 
she stayed at different times or who visited her, will always 
remember her generous gifts and hospitality, her powers of 
entertainment, and her loving care. 

Harriet was a musician and loved dancing and good 
times. She attended college at Shenandoah, Iowa, in 1883. 
She was a member of Plymouth Congregational church of 
Omaha, Neb., and was an enthusiastic and helpful member of 
the Ladies ’ Society there. 

After mother’s death in 1893 she went to California with 
Aunt Phebe Blackwell Shearer. After some months she re¬ 
turned and decided to study nursing. 

Harriet made her home for several years with sister Angie. 
Mother left Harriet seven hundred dollars more than her share 
of the estate, and all her personal property, as a reward for 
her devotion to her and remaining at home instead of follow¬ 
ing a career or marrying. 

In 1895 Harriet took nurses training at the Women’s 
Christian Association Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After 
her graduation she was made Superintendent of Henry Clay 



226 


HARRIET RUTH SMITH CROSSLEY 


Hospital at Richmond, Ky., and later at Kearney, Neb. At 
Kearney she met Jesse C. Crossley, whom she married in 
July, 1908, and went to live on their ranch at Happy Valley, 
twenty miles south of Whitman, Neb. They built a new home, 
planted trees and shrubs, and made the place a model of effi¬ 
ciency. 

Ruth established a Sunday school and was a favorite 
among the young people. She entered into their interests, 
and was a favorite there as she always had been with all her 
nephews and nieces. 

In 1911 she contracted pneumonia, which left her in a 
weakened state, from which she never quite recovered. 

Mr. Crossley took her to hospitals in Kearney, Omaha, and 
Lincoln, Neb., but she was not permanently benefited, and was 
more comfortable at Happy Vallejo until her death from heart 
disease October 29, 1912, 

She was buried in Forest Lawn cemetery, as she wished, 
and her personal property was given to those she had cared for 
in life. She had made many warm friendships and was known 
for her practical helpfulness and sympathy. There was scarce¬ 
ly a member of the family who had not been nursed back to 
health by her tender care. During her stay at Happy Valley 
she was hostess to all her friends and relatives, and although 
her life was cut off in her prime, memories of her will always 
be beautiful ones, for her life was one of loving anl loyal 
service. 

G. P. M. 

Ref.—Douglas Genealogy, Family Bible, Douffms 

County Records, Grant County (Neb.) Records. 


Biography of Cora Phebe Smith MuUin. 

Cora Phebe Smith was born April 6, 1866, at Valley Rest 
(near Florence), Neb. She was the fourth daughter and ninth 
child of John Keysar and Mary Ann Shearer Smith. 



CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 


227 


Her personal recollections be^n about 1869. In the spring 
of that year she was allowed to go out to see the fluffy chicks 
of an old hen who made her nest in a barrel near the house. 
She confidingly crawled into the barrel to see the baby chicks 
closer but the mother hen flew into a rage, ruffled her feathers, 
and pecked at her. Hastily backing out, she was confronted by 
an Indian, standing tall and forbidding in full warpaint and 
feathers, close to the barrel opening. As she could not move 
either way between cross hen and fierce warrior, she screamed 
lustily. Her mother came running to her rescue and after she 
was quieted the Indian grunted and said, “Ugh, papoose not 
hurt!” The shock to her nerves was so great, however, that 
she dreamed nightly of Indians until she was grown. That 
Indian was the only one she ever saw until the Omaha Exposi¬ 
tion of 1898, when she saw hundreds of them and never 
dreamed of them again. 

Soon after her fright her Aunt Phebe Shearer came to 
visit and it was thought best for her to take the child to 
Illinois with her as she was too timid to go outside the duor at 
home. 

So at the age of four, in 1870, little “Dightum Gingham” 
was transplanted to the soil of Illinois at Rushville. Her 
brothers gave her this nickname because of the tiny dresses of 
this kind of gingham that she wore, which sometimes bore this 
name imprinted on a square of paper, which in the rush of a 
busy household had not yet been taken off the new dress. It 
was just at this time that she trustingly buried her set of doll 
dishes to wait for them to grow into more dishes, as her 
brothers had told her they would, to tease her. 

The town of Rushville, near Galesburg, Ill., was the home 
of the Scripps family of newspaper fame. As the young people 
grew up after a careful schooling they often left to take posi¬ 
tions on the Scripps papers. This gave color to the thought of 
the town, which sent out many useful and well read people. 

Core Phebe’s life was so happy there that she remained 
there until her father’s death in 1875. Then for the first time 



228 


CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 


she seemed to realize that she had lost a protector, though her 
one recollection of her father was the following. 

When about the age of three, as she sat at the table in 
her high chair, she became hungry and impatient, and began 
to kick the table. Her father looked at her sternly and said, 
“Mary, take this child away and attend to her.” Her mother 
took her into the bedroom, where she leaned against a high 
feather bed while her mother spanked her. Her respect for 
parental authority began that day. 

Her aunt believed in and enforced the strictest obedience 
and she dared not bring home from school a poor report card 
or linger along the way to play. Her aunt chose her play¬ 
mates, her clothes, and brooked no opposition to her authority. 
Aunt Phebe believed that discipline meant that a child should 
never be given her own way. 

Cora was promoted often in school and graduated at the 
age of sixteen. She was president of her class and as class 
poet and editor of the class paper she had a chance to display 
her acquirements. 

At the age of fifteen she passed the examination for teach¬ 
ing, but was too young to teach. Her application to study af¬ 
fected her health and she returned to her mother to recover it. 

Once again she enjoyed the company of her brothers and 
sisters and learned to ride and play. She had come back to 
her home twice in this interval, at the age of nine when her 
father died and two years later she made a visit there while 
her aunt traveled. Her mother had come to Illinois to see her 
several times. 

She attended the teacher’s Normal school at Omaha and in 
September began teaching at Ponca school. Later she taught 
at Florence, where the principal and she gave an entertain¬ 
ment to buy the first fifty books of the Florence circulating 
library. 

In 1884 she returned to Rushville and attended a Normal 
school there and in September began to teach in Blair, Neb. 
After a successful year of teaching Eighth grade, Cora and 
her mother spent the summer at Lake Geneva, Wis., visiting 



CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 


229 


Uncle Henry Douglas Smith and his wife, Aunt Eliza. Their 
two sons, William and Edwin Smith, entertained them in 
Chicago. Chicago was just rising to a position as a great city 
in 1885, and in 1893 her “I will” had resulted in the world’s 
greatest exposition. We were very interested to observe the 
growth of the city. At Lake Geneva, Cora and her mother 
visited the home of Grandmother Charlotte Douglas’ cousin, 
Columbus Douglas, who owned Fontana, the head waters of 
the lake. 

There they met a cousin of grandmother’s, who was ninety 
years of age and who told many anecdotes of their early life. 

Cora returned to Blair and there met Charles Henry 
Mullin, who was in the Government Postal Service. They 
studied the Chautauqua course together and were married June 
21, 1886, at her mother’s home. Valley Rest. The members 
of the family were present, and also Mary Weber, her life 
long frind of Florence. Charles Henry Mullin was the son of 
Judge George Good Mullin and Anna Gosser Mullin, of West 
Point, Neb. He was born in Pittsburg, Penn., Aug. 12, 1860. 
He came to West Point with his parents in 1868 and after at¬ 
tending Peru Normal he taught school and entered the U. S. 
Mail Service in 1883 with headquarters at Blair, Neb. 

They lived in Missouri Valley until the death of her 
brother Jared’s wife, Carrie, July 11, 1886, when they came to 
Blair and Cora kept house for Jared for a year. In 1888 they 
spent the winter in Pittsburg, Penn., with Charles’ grand¬ 
mother, uncles and aunts. 

They visited Washington, saw Harrison inaugurated, went 
to Philadelphia and saw Independence Hall. This was where 
the history of her country first became a vital thing to Cora 
Phebe, and awakened the interest that lasted through the 
years. 

They returned to Valley Rest and after a short visit 
Charles entered the Commission business in 1889. He was suc¬ 
cessful and in 1891 incorporated with Latham Davis and J. J. 
Smith in a cold storage and commission business. 




230 


CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 


Robert Wilson Mullin was born May 11, 1890, at 2117 
Maple street. In 1891 they removed to 405 N. 39th street, 
where Cora experienced the loss of her mother and suffered a 
severe case of typhoid in May, 1893. 

In July they went to the Chicago World’s Pair with Jared 
and Priscilla. Here they were impressed with the greatness 
of other nations as well as their own. They returned home 
to a terrible winter. The falling egg market wiped oiat the 
profits of the year’s work. 

Charles went to Butte to sell eggs and burned the inside 
of his hand with phosphorus, coming home with his arm in a 
sling. Dr. A. B. Somers came to their house daily to see Charles, 
and a maid who gave birth to an unwelcome child; and last, 
Henry Young, who broke a ligament in his foot. At this time 
Marietta and Henry lived with them. 

Following this episode came a fire in the cold storage 
plant in which Charles nearly lost his life. After the fire 
Charles went east to establish a market for butter and eggs. 

They put their household goods in storage and went to 
Washington, Philadelphia, and down the Delaware on the S. S. 
Indian and up the Atlantic to Boston. They were on the ocean 
three days in a fog, and having been sea sick, they appreciated 
the many kinds of good food at the old Quincy House. A 
friend, Mr. Patch, found them a nice home with Mrs. Stanfield 
on Chelsea St., Charleston. They visited Harvard on Class Day 
and went to Longfellow’s home in Concord, and the libraries 
and museums, and best of all, they were invited to many in¬ 
teresting homes by Mrs. Stanfield’s friends. The freedom of 
the Navy Yard was given them and so they became acquainted 
with rope walks, school ships, dry docks, and visiting war¬ 
ships. Then as summer advanced they visited many seaside 
places—Marblehead, Swamp Scott, and Cape Cod, and the is¬ 
lands along the coast. They went down to Fall River and 
along the Sound, past New London, and the homes of Cora’s 
ancestors. 

After a happy summer they came back to Omaha and in 
the fall the company was reorganized and Charles went into 



CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 


231 


business for himself, having lost many thousands in the cor¬ 
poration. He continued in his own business until Feb. 21,1905, 
when a fire destroyed the Mercer block, burned his books, and 
much perishable fruit, on which the insurance had expired a 
day or so before. 

Charles helped to establish the creamery business over 
Northern Nebraska and has sold goods and insurance in later 
years. This mode of life agrees with him very much better 
than proprietary business. 

They owned the home at 2203 Grant street in 1902 and 
lived there until 1919, when they bought their present home 
at 320 N. 41st street. 

December 16, 1896, Katherine Douglas Mullin was born, 
and in 1897 Robert had scarlet fever, grip and mumps, and 
lost his hearing during one night, and all the skill of many 
doctors never availed to restore it. He could read a little 
and they managed to save his speech and send him to school 
and college. 

Cora made many trips to Hot Springs, S. D., and to Colo¬ 
rado for his health, and he became an athlete and very strong. 

In 1912 Cora and Charles bought their first automobile 
and took a long trip to their farm in Elgin, N. D. In 1916 
they went to Chicago in a Dodge car and they now visit Val¬ 
ley Rest very often in their Stephens Six. They can make the 
trip of 12 miles in about 25 minutes, which it took two hours 
to cover in the old days. 

Cora Phebe has always been keenly interested in litera¬ 
ture and art. She belongs to Mu Sigma, Drama League, Fine 
Arts, Browning Club and the Poet’s Club. She was leader 
of the literature department of the 0. W. C. for many years. 
She is a member of the First Congregational church and takes 
pleasure in her membership in the Bible Study Class under Dr. 
A. B. Somers, of which she was president for two years. 

She belongs to the Mayflower Descendents, The Daughters 
of the Revolution, The Daughters of 1812, The Daughters of 
Founders and Patriots, and The Daughters of Colonists. 



232 


CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 


Charles Mullin became a member of Nebraska Lodge A. F. 
and A. M., No. 1, of the Masons in 1892, Bellevue Chapter in 
1893, and Mt. Calvary Commandery at Omaha in 1897. He 
joined Tangier Temple of Mystic Shriners in 1897. He was a 
Ceremonial Master for over 20 years and a delegate to the 
Ceremonial in Indianapolis in 1919, and a member of the Divan 
for 25 years. He belonged to Carter Lake Club and Prettiest 
Mile Club. 

He has the quality of making and keeping friends and is 
well known through Eastern Nebraska. He was a dutiful son 
and is a good husband and father. His gift of story telling is 
unusual. 

C. P. M. 

Prom the facts on the previous page it may be deducted 
that Cora Phebe Mullin leads an active and interesting life. 

She is a generous and loving mother as well as a cultured 
and public spirited w'oman. She is noted for her tact and 
her ability to successfully plan and carry out an idea. Her 
humor and wit have been the source of much pleasure both 
in her home and in her wide circle of friends. She takes groat 
pride in her home but lends a willing hand and heart in church 
or social activities. Study of books and writing have taken 
her most vital interest, however, and this is most natural as 
one looks back through the list of well educated men and 
women from whom she is descended. It is this interest which 
has proved such an inspiration to her children and given them 
their love of books and education. 

Her life has been one of service and helpfulness for her 
ideals have always been high and her mind keen and analyti¬ 
cal. She is a good judge of human nature and it has been said 
of her that she is one of the fairest minded women of today. 

These are but few of the many virtues of which she is 
possessed, but a book would not suffice to contain their en¬ 
tirety, so it is my loving wish as her daughter that her life 
may return to her a rich fulfillment of blessings which she 
has so generously showered upon those around her. 

K. M. E. 



CORA PHEBE SMITH MULLIN 


233 


As before stated, many hopes were built on Robert Mullin. 
He attended Lake school and was a good pupil. In 1897 he 
had scarlet fever, grip and mumps within eight weeks. He 
had also sutfered a severe blow on the ear at school during this 
time. Nov. 13, 1897, he went to bed complaining of an ear ache 
and the next morning he arose entirely deaf. Every medical 
aid w'as summoned but the trouble was the thickening of the 
fluid in the inner ear, in which the auditory nerve lies curved. 

A slight improvement was made but in the meantime his 
mother taught him phonetically. He had private teachers, 
Miss Satterlee and Leonora Smith. By unremitting efforts his 
speech was preserved and he reads lips readily and has never 
lost his speech. At the age of ten he entered the Nebraska 
School for the Deaf, and there took manual training and car¬ 
pentry, as well as graduating with high honors in 1909. 

His studies included higher mathematics and Latin. 
Robert worked at carpentry summers and became proficient 
at this trade after his seventeenth year until he was twenty- 
one. 

Robert won a scholarship to Gallaudet College for the Deaf, 
ill Washington, D. C. Here he developed wonderfully quite 
as much from living in Washington as from the college course. 

He studied chemistry and kindred subjects and on return¬ 
ing entered the employment of Louis R. Bostwick, commercial 
photographer, under whose skillful training he has become a 
very fine photographer, lie has good taste in literature and 
high ideals of life. He is a worthy holder of the family name 
for his generation and has two sons in Miller Park school, 
Omaha. 

He also has a daughter. Robert shows a marked talent for 
invention but finds his best field of work in photography. He 
lives at his home at 5512 No. 27th street, with his wife, Edith 
Lena Davis Mullin, daughter of Frederick and Agnes Davis, 
whom he married July 15, 1916, at Omaha, Neb. Children: 

Robert Louis Mullin, b. May 29, 1917. 

Charles Frederick Mullin, b. April 27, 1919. 

Corriune Agnes Mullin, b. Feb. 14, 1922. 



234 


ROBERT WILSON MULLIN 


Children of Cora Phebe Smith MuDin 

Cora Phebe Smith, born April 6, 1866, at Valley Rest, 
married June 21, 1886, at Valley Rest, to Charles Henry 
Mullin, born August 12, 1860, at Pittsburg, Penn. Children: 

Robert Wilson Mullin, born May 11, 1890, at 2217 Maple 
street, Omaha, Neb.; married July 15 at the home of the Rev. 
Jones in Omaha, Edith Lena Davis, daughter of Frederick 
and Agnes Davis, of Omaha, born June 1, 1895, at Lincoln, 
Neb. 

Katherine Douglas Mullin, born Dec. 16, 1896, at 2203 
Grant street, Omaha, Neb.; married (1) Robert Earle Fisher, 
August 15, 1914; divorced August 6, 1918; married (2) Nov. 
2, 1921, at Glenwood, Iowa, Clarence Thomas Edee, son of 
Charles H. and Louella Austin Edee, of Lincoln, Neb. 

Ref.—Douglas Genealogy, Family Bible, Douglas 

County Records, Rushville (Ill.) Records. 

Robert Wilson Mullin. 

Robert Wilson Mullin, only son of Charles Henry and Cora 
Phebe Smith Mullin, was born May 11, 1890, at 2217 Maple 
street, Omaha, Neb. He is the only Mullin of his generation. 
His father, Charles Mullin, is the oldest of the two sons of 
George and Anna Gosser Mullin of West Point, Neb. George 
Good Mullin was the only son of George and Elizabeth Good 
Mullin who left any children. Of six sons four perished in 
the Civil War of 1861-5. 

Walter was shot by a mob while speaking for the Union 
at Baltimore, one died in a southern prison, one was drowned at 
sea, and one was killed in action at sea. George Mullin w’as in 
fourteen battles, but returned unhurt from the war. 

He removed from Pittsburg to West Point, Neb., where 
he took up a homestead of 160 acres on which he lived until his 
death March 1, 1913. His widow, Anna Gosser Mullin, died 
Dec. 26, 1923, at this home. 



KATHERINE DOUGLAS MULLIN EDEE 


235 


Kathenne Douglas MuUiu Edee. 

Katherine Douglas Mullin, second child and only daugh¬ 
ter of Charles H. and Cora Smith Mullin, was born Dec. 16, 
1896, at 2203 Grant street, Omaha, Neb. 

She attended Lake school and graduated there, after which 
she attended Omaha Central High school while Miss Kate 
McHugh was principal there. Besides a musical training in 
voice and piano she was an A pupil in the majority of subjects 
which she took. She majored in Latin and Domestic Science 
and graduated with high honors. 

She won a scholarship in Omaha University but did not 
take advantage of it at that time. 

In August, 1914, Katherine married at her parents’ home, 
Robert E. Fisher, son of John and Mary Weller Fisher, born 
April 27, 1889, at Quincy, Ill. 

A daughter, Charlotte Katherine, was born Nov. 5. 1916. 

As Robert Fisher was uncongenial, a divorce was. granted 
to Katherine August 30, 1918. 

Charlotte was given to her mother, with whom she now 
lives and attends Saunders school, where she shows remarkable 
ability and also a decided talent for music. 

In Sept., 1918, Katherine entered Omaha University, where 
she took an active part in school affairs. She was a member 
of the student council and a reporter on the Gateway staff. 

She majored in French and English Literature and also 
took great interest in her Home Economics studies. She 
taught High School English and College French during her 
Senior year and graduated with honors, receiving a Bachelor 
of Arts Degree and a first grade State Teacher’s Certificate. 

As Chairman of the Gala Day exercises of 1921, she showed 
her executive ability. Katherine made warm friends and is 
generous and conscientious. 

She joined the First Central Congregational church in 
Nov., 1919, during Dr. F. G. Smith’s pastorate. She taught in 
the Sabbath school and was Director of the (’hnrch Kindergar- 




236 


KATHERINE DOUGLAS MULLIN EDEE 


ten for several months until her school work demanded her 
time. She has an undeveloped talent for writing, being able to 
compose as she types. 

At Glenwood, Iowa, Nov. 2, 1921, Katherine married 
Clarence Thomas Edee, son of Charles H. and Euella Austin 
Edee, of Lincoln, Neb. 

Clarence Thomas Edee was born Oct. 17, 1900, in Pawnee 
City, Neb. He attended school at Pawnee City and after the 
family’s removal to Omaha he attended the University of 
Omaha, studying journalism and law. He is a member of the 
Phi Sigma Phi fraternity and also the journalism fraternity of 
Delta Sigma Phi. He was assistant editor of the Gateway in 
1921, and took an active part in all school activities. 

He is at present the manager of the Classified Advertising 
Department of the Omaha Bee. He is a member of the First 
Central Congregational church. 

Since her marriage Katherine has been on the list of sub¬ 
stitute teachers in Omaha and has taught as a substitute in 
many of the schools. 

Katherine and Clarence Thomas Edee have one daughter, 
Virginia Prances Edee, born Oct. 25, 1922, at Nicholas Senii 
Hospital in Omaha. Virginia Frances was named for her great 
grandmother, Virginia Frances (Barnett) Edee, wife of the 
Thomas Edee, and daughter of Allen Barnett, who invented the 
governor in use on steam engines, also the Barnett stove at 
Louisville, Ky. 

Virginia Frances was baptised Dec. 30, 1923, at the First 
Congregational church in Omaha, by Dr. Frank G. Smith. She 
gives promise already of unusual intelligence and a sunny dis¬ 
position. 

Katherine Edee is a devoted wife and mother as well as a 
sympathetic daughter. 

It was only by her interest and persistence that these 
books were completed. The laborious work of compiling, as¬ 
sorting and recording data would have been wasted had not 
Katherine generously assisted in their arrangement and in 
typing them. She devoted many hours to this work in the 



ANGELINE SMITH PICKERING CRANE 


237 


belief that the record is valuable to this family. She has the 
Brewster gift common to all his descendents—that of writing 
readily and well. 


C. P. M. 


Biography of Angeline Leonora Smith Pickering Crane. 

Angeline Leonora Smith was the fifth daughter and tenth 
child of John K. and Mary A. Smith. She was born at Valley 
Rest, Feb. 23, 1869. She was a beautiful, dark-eyed child of 
six years of age at her father’s death. She had a very happy 
girlhood and was a strong and healthy child. 

She was such a little tomboy that her brothers affection¬ 
ately called her ''Johnny.” One day when Mrs. Patrick and 
Jennie were expected, Cora and Angie ran away from the 
dishes to the orchard and climbed to the top of the highest 
tree. When the guests arrived the little girls refused to come 
down until Marietta came after them with the promise that 
they should not be punished. Angie fell and hurt herself but as 
soon as dinner was over she was feeling quite well enough to 
persuade Jennie, all curls, white dress, and dainty slippers to 
climb with her to the ridge pole of the house and sit there, 
again refusing to come down until promised candy. Mother 
seldom punished her because she was the life of the house and 
sweet and loving, if mischievous. 

After she graduated from the district school, she attended 
Doane College, at Crete, Neb. In this Congregational strong¬ 
hold she met other descendents of the Mayflower Congrega- 
tionalists and married Benjamin Turner Pickering, descended 
from Governor Carver. 

They were married Oct. 25. 1887, at Valley Rest and 
went to the home he had built near Steele City, Neb., later 
going to Lincoln for the education of their three children. 

Wherever Angeline lived she was greatly loved and re¬ 
spected. Benjamin and Angie joined the Congregational 



238 


ANGELINE SMITH PICKERING CRANE 


church at Doane College and were ever after active members 
where they lived. Benjamin was Superintendent of the Sab¬ 
bath school while in Steele City, and Angie was President of 
the Ladies’ Association of Vine St. Congregational church in 
Lincoln for many years. 

She had great executive ability and so organized her co¬ 
workers that they made many thousands of dollars toward 
their handsome church. Ben was president of an oil companj^ 
and gave hearty co-operation to her efforts. 

Later Benjamin’s health required a dry climate and he 
traveled in Colorado and Arizona several years before his 
death. Angie sometimes accompanied him for a few weeks 
but usually she was at her post anxiously training and rearing 
her three children. She was very proud of them and used the 
greatest patience in their training in high ideals and practical 
usefulness. 

Bethel’s marriage to Othel Brown was a beautiful and 
impressive ceremony at their home. 

There followed pleasant years filled Avith the boys' col¬ 
lege activities until Benjamin’s sudden death at El Paso, 
Texas, in 1916. 

This was followed by Doane’s and Avery’s enlistment in 
the World War. They were at Camp Grant, Ill., and Camp 
McArthur, Texas, respectively, and Angie was greatly be¬ 
reaved although her pride in her boys sustained her. 

In March, 1918, while on a visit to Bethel at Arkansas 
City, Angie married George F. Crane of Steele City, Neb. They 
lived at Maplehurst and there in 1920 Bethel died after a long 
illness. Angie never recovered from this sorrow. 

As a memorial to Bethel, Angie took up this study of the 
family history, with the object in view of setting it down in 
its present form. She became a skilled genealogist, exact and 
painstaking. She was a member of the Nebraska State Histori¬ 
cal and Genealogical society and a regular contributor to their 
magazine. She worked faithfully in spite of ill health and 
sorrow until her untimely death May 13, 1923. She is buried 



239 


BETHEL LEONORA PICKERING BROWN 


beside Bethel at Steele City, Neb. Children of Benjamin E. 
and Angeline Leonora Pickering: 

Bethel Leonora, b. Feb. 18, 1889; m. Othel Brown; d. May 
1, 1920. 

Doane Turner, b. Dec. 27, 1892; m. Boma Rush. 

Avery Benjamin, b. March 22, 1898; m. Plorine Reed. 

Ref.—Douglas Genealogy, Family Bible, Douglas 
County Records, Steele City (Neb.) and Lincoln (Neb.) 
Records. 


Bethel Leonora Pickering Brown. 

Bethel Leonora, daughter of Benjamin Ellsworth and 
Angeline Leonora Smith Pickering, was born near Steele City, 
Neb., three miles south on the Kansas state line, Washington 
County, Feb. 18, 1889. She moved with her parents to Steele 
City, Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., where she attended the Uni¬ 
versity of Nebraska and subsequently married at the home of 
her parents, April 11, 1911, Othel C. Brown, son of Alba and 
Mattie Brown, of Woodlawn, Lincoln, Neb. He was born at 
Woodlawn, Lincoln, Neb., Feb. 22, 1889. Bethel Leonora re¬ 
moved to Arkansas City with her husband, Othel C. Brown, 
and to them a little daughter was born March 9, 1916, named 
Roberta Angeline. The family removed to Omaha and while 
on a visit to her mother, Mrs. Geo. F. Crane, 2535 R St., Lin¬ 
coln, Neb., Bethel Leonora Pickering Brown was stricken with 
the influenza and after an illness of four months passed away 
at the mother’s home surrounded by her mother and brothers, 
aunt and friends and her stricken husband. May 1, 1920. She 
was laid to rest near the grave of her father at the family 
burial ground at Steele City. Neb. 

Roberta Angeline, born March 9, 1916, was four years 
old at her mother’s death, and was taken to live with her 
Grandmother Brown at Woodlawn, Lincoln, Neb. Her Grand¬ 
mother Brown died in April, 1924, while her other grand- 



240 


DOANE TURNER PICKERING 


mother, Mrs. Crane, died in May, 1923. She is an unusually 
beautiful child, possessing many winning qualities. She is in 
the care of her aunt, Miss Maude Brown. 


Doane Turner Pickering. 

Doane Turner Pickering, first son of Benjamin Ellsworth 
and Angie Leonora Smith Pickering, was born in Steele City, 
Neb., Dec. 27, 1892. 

He was educated in the Lincoln Public schools and gradu¬ 
ated from Lincoln High school in 1913. He was a student at 
the University of Nebraska until 1915. He was a member of 
the College of Commerce and Business Administration. He 
was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at the 
University of Nebraska, Alpha Chapter. 

He was employed as a traveling salesman and married 
Roma Aileen Rush on Nov. 29, 1916. 

He enlisted in the U. S. Army on June 13, 1918, during 
the World War. He was recommended for and transferred to 
the Infantry Officers Training school at Camp Grant, Rockford, 
Ill., in Sept., 1918. Doane was honorably discharged from 
the Training school on Nev. 27, 1918, after the armistice. 

After the War he entered the insurance business as a 
salesman. He was initiated in the East Lincoln Lodge, No. 
210, A. F. and A. M., in 1919. He served on the Vigilance 
Committee of the Lincoln Auto Club. He then became General 
Agent for Lincoln territory for the Mutual Benefit Health 
and Accident Association of Omaha, Neb., from 1921 to the 
time of this writing. 

Doane is also a member of the Vine Congregational church 
of Lincoln, Neb. 

Roma Aileen Rush Pickering, daughter of Doctor Charles 
Henderson and Daisy Burford Rush, was born April 14, 1895, 
at Republican City, Neb. She was educated in the Lincoln, 
Neb., city schools and graduated from the Temple High 



AVERY BENJAMIN PICKERING 


241 


school (Uni. of Nebraska), branch, class of 1914. She was a 
student in the University of Nebraska in 1914 and 1915, where 
she was a member of the Zeta Chapter of the Alpha Omricon 
Phi sorority. She married Doane T. Pickering Nov. 29, 1916. 
She is a member of the Lincoln Woman’s Club and the Grace 
Methodist church. 

Doane and Ponia Pickering have two children ; Roma 
Suzaine, who was born May 19, 1918, in Lincoln, Neb., and 
entered Capitol school in Feb., 1923, and is also a member of a 
dancing class since 1922; and Martha Ann, who was born July 
27, 1921, in Lincoln, Neb. Doane and Roma are at home at 
1227 G street, Lincoln, Neb., at this writing. 

D. T. P. 


Avery Benjamin Pickering. 


Avery Benjamin Pickering, second son of Benjamin E. and 
Angie Leonora Smith Pickering, born March 22, 1898, in Oma¬ 
ha, Neb. After his parents removed to Lincoln he attended 
Elliot Grammar school in 1914 and graduated from Lincoln 
High school in 1918. He attended the University of Nebraska 
for two years where he specialized in the law course and was a 
member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. 

He enlisted in the World’s War and was sent to Camp 
MacArthur, Waco, Texas, Officers Training Camp. After the 
armistice he returned to Lincoln and married at the home o 
her parents, Oct. 20, 1921, Plorine Anita Reed, daughter oi 
Eugene and Adella High Reed, of Lincoln, Neb. Plorine was 
born in Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 5, 1899. Avery and Morine have 
one daughter. Bethel Plorine, born July 11, 1922, in Lincoln, 


Neb 

Avery was superintendent of the J. H. Alarkel Dodge 
A-ency Shop for one and a half years. He is now in business 
for himself as a Dodge Specialist at 321 So. 13th street, Lin- 
coin, Neb., since March 27, 1924. 





242_ ROYAL LINEAGE AND COATS OF ARMS 

Avery and Florine have made their home at 2535 R street 
in Lincoln, Neb., since the death of Avery’s mother in 1923. 

Florine graduated from Lincoln High school and attended 
the University of Nebraska for three years where she was a 
member of the Achoth sorority. 

P. R. P. 


Royal Lineage and Coats of Arms. 

The Royal Lineage of this family is traced through the 
Browne family to Ethelred I of England, though the Tracy- 
Griswold families to Alfred the Great, and to Charlemagne. 
This can be found in detail in the Omaha Public Library in the 
volume “Americans of Royal Descent,” by Browning. 

Personally I am more proud of our descent from signers 
of the Magna Charta. 

We are entitled to many coats of arms. I give some of 
the mottoes which are written upon them. 

Denison Coat of Arms: Motto—“Domus Grata.” (Hos¬ 
pitable House). 

Nehemiah Smith Coat of Arms Ancestor, the Mayor of 
New Castle: Motto—“Aviso la fin,” (Consider the end.) 

Browne Coat of Arms: Motto—^“Follow Reason.” 

Douglas Coat of Arms: Motto.—“I bide my time.” 

Bulkely Coat of Arms: Motto—“Non temere nec timide ” 
(Neither bold nor timid.) 

Hicks Coat of Arms: Motto—“Tout en bon heure.” (All 
in good time.) 

The Washington, Brewster and Hyde coats of arms and 
several others belong to this family. 




CONCLUSION 


243 


Conclusion. 

Time lends dignity to the annals of our forefathers but 
the lives of our contemporaries are hard to write unless made 
human by incident. 

It has been a great pleasure to make this record because 
every member of the family has so generously given data and 
reminiscence for accuracy and interest, 

Cora Phebe Smith Mullin. 





























CONTENTS 


Family Page 

Abell . 79 

Adams . 34 

Andrews . 45 

Backus . 38 

Bangs . 59 

Bates, Kittie May Smith. 197 

Baxter . 30 

Beard . 17 

Bearse . 54 

Betts . 18 

Bourne .114 

Brewster Mayflower Line. 98 

Brewster, William. 99 

Browne .137 

Brown, Bethel Leonora Pickering.239 

Bulkely .110 

Camp . 15 

Canfield . 13 

Caulkins . 77 

Coit . 1^1 

Crane, Angeline Smith Pickering.237 

Crane, Benjamin . 35 

Crane, Colonel Thaddeus. 36 

Crossley, Harriet Ruth Smith..224 

Denison . 

Douglas Line of Descent. ^5 

Douglas . 

Douglas Women . 75 

Edee, Katherine Douglas Mullin..235 

Fenner . 

French, Octa Leonora. 

Gardiner ... 

Griswold . 




































Family * Page 

Griswold . 128 

Hall . 50 

Hall-Whetmore .*.153 

Harris .144 

Hayes . 28 

Hicks . 61 

Hough . 76 

Howes . 56 

Hyde ...133^ 

Lane, Fay Emeline Smith.213 

Lay . 95 

Learned . 52 

Lee .136 

Lord .109, 

Lucas . 157 

Mayflower Line. 139 

Marvin .. 23 

Moore . 27 

Mullin, Charles Henry.229 

Mullin, Cora Phebe Smith.226 

Mullin, Robert Wilson.233 

Parke . 116 

Paddock. 46 

Pickering, Benjamin Ellsworth. 8 

Pickering, Doane Turner.240 

Pickering, Avery Benjamin.241 

Post . 81 

Royal Lineage and Coats of Arms.242 

Sears . 49 

Seymour . 20 

Stanley . 29 

Stanton . 103 

Stowe .146 

Smith, John . 1 

Smith, Nehemiah. 120 

Smith, Jared Crane and Charlotte.168 

20.2 






































Family Page 

Smith, John Keysar and Mary.174 

Smith, Jared Joel. 190 

Smith, Perry Douglas.202 

Smith, Thaddeus Royal.221 

Smith, Jared Edwin.199 

Smith, Ward Keysar.200 

Smith, Sidney Weber.216 

Smith, Arthur Douglas.217 

Smith, Ruth Carol.218 

Smith, Joy Irene. 220 

Smith Line of Descent. 12 

Shearer . 179 

Tracy . 41 

Washington ..102 

Wetherell .155 

Wheeler .118 

Whetmore . 150 

Winchester .115 

Wolcott .127 

Weber .»207 

Young, Marietta Smith.187 






























» t » 






r. / ■ ♦ 




-'• V 

r ^ .' f • 

■i « 




i'^ 






^ '•> 


••'. 





•♦‘v- ',' 

if*'.. '•■■: 

t'M-: 


* 

'€:■- • 

> A' • ..• 


K* > "* ■ • * • 

'; 


1, 


' 1 , 


Mfpi- ■ 

Mfe ..' ■ 

i» A' 




.„'',V>' ■‘- I 


^• r / 


fvVV, ,ii';'. ■' , . 

W.? ’'5 ' 

bv^A*‘ 


t 


* »* 




': A . , 




» •.' i • . > ■.'o ' -■ 


11* 


' ' • ’■'t 

■ ■, •■'■ ■. r 

• h 1 ,■ .' '■' ■ •■ 


I' I' ' 


•r « .1 1 I 

", -V, '^v.V'; ■,' 
A- .> 


• ^ • I 


' A > 


'■'y ' ■ . ,■ *V 


b ^ 


■I- ■ - r- V ' •■ 

' ', ; . 

I ■ ''‘ .'W^k *♦'»* "-'v^ ' 

' ■ -i,.," 

' ' ■■, v>. ■■}, ■ 

. ‘4 ' '' ;, •in 

• 'k. >*' ■' I ■ (* 

■ '■ 


\ . 


: 'V ;! ■ ’» : . »A 
' I ' . > A k * ■ A ‘ v< . 

/ , : ■', j>il 

- : A!® 

k'' ' ■■ ■' •:.rJ.y?^.4A 




», 


►u, 


.' > 


i' / 


> ' 




v: V*'’V' t'lf 


s'rf'. •- 




1 



















1 


i 

I 


i 





<0 







I • 

0 







: 



















<3 • k 






o • i 








® ; 1 


'''..I 

*■ *P 

* -y 

« ■'^V /V 

* 0 

O » O .V 

\ < 0 ^ v^ 

v^. ; 


Ac ° - 

'^o v^ : " v. 

.0 V *4^ 

.' -5^ ‘ 


^ 0 


Ji.K 




t\ 


• * 


o » k 






' - s ' . 0 ' - O , t 

^V t / » 

" n 




'. o< : 

* 4 O. • iy^ 

^ <1 r o ^ 

. °-i- ‘ 


VX. 


O V 


O M o 


vP ^ • 




a"^ *• 


O' .''.‘j>,, 


i> 

. o 'o. . - A ^ 

■*^* "^O 0 ° “ ® ^ ^ 

..^ O * 

''*’- '’b « 


O • i 


• ^ o 




^ ® \0 ’ 7 \ ’ 

A 

.. '^° *••'■ .-5, 

Sv^ <<c. ♦ 

■i : 

. 0 ^ 






>^1 


0 




- V-^ 
a'^ 


o » L 


<‘ 


O' .• 


^ r. O “ C ♦ '■«i> 


# * ^ 

r N ^ 

y °-u * 




*f ^ V ^ 

o' 




o ^ 




' P>. 

^ . '* ‘tf ' 

<i. ••'• <V ‘--o’ A®' 

' * "' -4?^ , ' ' ‘ 




O 'o , k* 

0 ° “ ® 

-» o 

• -P i 

• 

^ O \ 0 v\ 

aO^ *1 *^' > V^ s 

^ **' 1.^ 

c,o : 

* •Op o 

' 


-tt-rH 


• ,'4'''„ 

“% <L^ <i^ 

p,V . i i ^ ^ 

C v t ^ 

*^/r79^ ■» o 








o. . 0 " *''.*<’>■ 


A 




r^,*' 


0 


L ‘ • 


^0 




‘\ ^ V ^ ^ 





















- O . * • rv 

a\ 

♦ o O ® ^ 

^ ® * ‘\ ^ 

"» 0 ^ » Ar o 

* < •» • <j, V O *■ 


V 




a\ ' V^ ' ..« 

A ^ C ® “ ° 4 . 

' <: 


^ • J •» ■ <V> Q *■ „ ^ n ^ n 

^ y,. 

» •^^'^ „'Sia- .. 





fp> » < •» <?,~ 



‘vT C" 


* o “u * A ' 

^ -V — ^ ^ 

'<V^ '^ ^^ • * “ \^ -C 

♦- "^O c ■>“■>, <5. 



V 

t w - 
*“ #"'V IW 

O . * 0,1 








fx^ . t / « 

/•'J «,• ,y^* ^ ^ 


< o 


• « “ ^ * • , 1 * aV O 



- 1 // flO VXV - 

■^4. ^yi^,* <y %. • 

'V '° • ‘ ‘ a\'^ <- ‘ 

* O^ c o *' ® -. ^ 




^ A'*’ v'‘ 

O \ 0 »• 

’ A° ^•’ ■e.'*''^ 

. V * o 4 V * .. 


* * * ' ^ ''^ 'o . * - ^ 

IV . t ' • ^ ’’^ a\ 


* 0 K 0 ^ 

% 4^*' 



A V -^ * * * 

• “ *■-» o 4 ^ c ® ® ♦ '<^‘J. 

K sc UI//j'y~Z> '* \ » % 4?vsW\ «• '5' 




> ^ o"^ .‘"» "^o 

'- %.^ (P °0 AC. 


I' ■ 



5“^ . 



♦“ “« 

.\’ .o'*” "^o 'o.. 

<1* *5^. t/ .» jj^i{f7pp27 -J 

•^ 0 '^ -^ixy 

o iP'Ki * * 40^ * * n ^ 

4 V ,,. ^ *o«o’ . 0 ^ 

*' -• ^^ - ^ ♦kvVA' cx*- aV v'- ' 


ii. ”. ^%'^* V • __„^ 

'V '°'‘‘ aV''’ <.* ‘^«‘\o'*' 

» °o .'>^% ^.#> 




■* _\^ k 


^ ® jp 'Tl, *• 

>» V <#*;. « 

• r\ 

0-^ 





• <?rv /•'^ ♦ 


^0> -9 

vA <i> 


* -V • 


o • A 


.A, 



A^’’ <> "'•• 

C ® “ ® ♦ < 5 * 4 , 

A o' 




40 ^ 




V A> 




4 0 • 

■CL* ■«<» •" o 

.* 4 '-cyyJF^ ♦ ^^xUWvsS^ ' 

o'^“...«-% '■’ v"^.-->cc*“'”’o^°..., •- 

* V* V I ; yS^(^ - A\\^//^ o 

DOBBS BROS. ^ ^ 

LIBRARY BINDING ^ V *'n T <* A *^r^SUy^^ 

<A ' • * * ^ "O • ^ * 

^O / -ir ^O 

ST. AUGUSTINE ^ ^ C *^ ^ -1^ 

s^. . 


■ ^ . n o 



MAY- 7 4 ^" / 


FLA. 

^^^32084 



♦ - . „ ^ n- 



»<v « 

. » j 





